TheJLible Study Union Lessons 



BR 1704 
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Heroes of the 
Faith 







Class. 
Book. 



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THE BIBLE STUDY UNION (BLAKESLEE) GRADED LESSONS 

THE COMPLETELY GRADED SERIES 

Intermediate Grade — First Year 



Heroes of the Faith 



BY 

HERBERT WRIGHT GATES 




Philip A. Nordell, D.D., Editor 
Frank K. Sanders D.D., Ph.D. ) 
George E. Horr, D-D. \ r , us - »-«■— 

Charles F. Kent, Ph.D f Consulttng Editors 

George A. Coe, Ph.D., LL.D. J 

Robert E. Blakeslee, Managing Editor 



BIBLE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY 
250 Devonshire Street, Boston 



w, 



Introduction 
LESSONS IN THE COURSE 






FIRST QUARTER. 

Lesson 1. Abraham. About 18th century b. c. 

A Pioneer of the Olden Time 
Lesson 2. David Livingstone. 1813-1873. 

Missionary and Explorer 
Lesson 3. David Livingstone. 

A Pioneer in Central Africa 
Lesson 4. Moses. About 13th century b. c. 

The Liberator of the Hebrews . 

Lesson 5. Moses. 

The Hebrew Lawgiver and Judge 
Lesson 6. Harriet Beecher Sto we. 1811-1896. 

Who Aroused a Nation's Conscience . 
Lesson 7. Samuel Chapman Armstrong. 1839-1893. 

A Pioneer in the Education of the Freedmen 
Lesson 8. John Howard. 1726-1790. 

The Champion of Prison Reform 
Lesson 9. Florence Nightingale. 1820-1910. 

A Pioneer in the Red Cross Movement 
Lesson 10. Guido Fridolin Verbeck. 1830-1898. 

A Citizen of no Country but Honored by Three 
Lesson 11. Guido Fridolin Verbeck. 

A Pioneer in the New Civilization of Japan 
Lesson 12. Review ....... 



SECOND QUARTER. 

Lesson 13. Elijah. 9th century b. c. 

Champion of Israel's Faith and Popular Liberties 
Lesson 14. Amos. 8th century b. c. 

The Herdsman Prophet . 
Lesson 15. Jeremiah. 6th century b. c. 

The Enlightened Conscience of Judah 
Lesson 16. John Wyclif. 1324-1384. 

" The Morning Star of the Reformation ' 
Lesson 17. Girolamo Savonarola. 1452-1498. 

The Patriot Priest of Italy 
Lesson 18. Girolamo Savonarola. 

A Prophet who Met a Prophet's Fate 
Lesson 19. Martin Luther. 1483-1546. 

The Hero of the Protestant Reformation 
Lesson 20. . Martin Luther. 

The Fearless Foe of the Papacy 
Lesson 21. Gaspard de Coligny. 1517-1572. 

The Leader of the French Huguenots 
Lesson 22. John Knox. 1505-1572. 

" Who Never Feared the Facs of Man ". 
Lesson 23. John Knox. 

The Hero of the Scottish Reformation 
Lesson 24. Review ...... 



Copyright, 1910, by the Bible Study Publishing Company, Boston. 



2CLA27n 



Lessons in the Course 



in 






Lesson 25. 
Lesson 26. 
Lesson 27. 
Lesson 28. 

Lesson 29. 
Lesson 30. 
Lesson 31. 
Lesson 32. 
Lesson 33. 
Lesson 34. 
Lesson 35. 
Lesson 36. 



THIRD QUARTER. 

Paul. Martyred about 64 a. d. 

The Persecutor who Became an Apostle 
Paul. 

The Founder of Christian Missions . 
John Eliot. 1604-1690. 

First Preacher to the Indians . 
William Carey. 1761-1834. 

The Shoemaker who Became " The Father and 

Modern Missions " .... 

Adoniram Judson. 1788-1850. 

Father of American Foreign Missionary Enterpr: 
Adoniram Judson. 

The Apostle to the Burmans . 
Marcus Whitman. 1802-1847. 

Pioneer, Missionary and Patriot 
William Taylor. 1821-1902. 

His Preparation for a World-wide Mission 
William Taylor. 

A World-wide Herald of the Cross 
John G. Paton. 1824-1907. 

A Preacher of the Gospel to Cannibals 
John G. Paton. 

The Hero of the New Hebrides 
Review 





119 




124 




129 


nder of 


134 




140 




145 




149 


. 


156 


. 


161 


. 


166 


• 


171 
178 



FOURTH QUARTER. 

Lesson 37. Jonathan. 11th century b. c. 

Who Valued Friendship above a Throne . . . .179 

Lesson 38. Esther. 5th century b. c. 

A Heroine of the Jewish Captivity . . . . .184 

Lesson 39. Judas Maccabeus. 2d century b. c. 

The Last of the Great Hebrew Generals .... 190 
Lesson 40. Chinese Gordon. 1833-1885. 

How he Became a " Yellow Jacket " .... 195 

Lesson 41. Chinese Gordon. 

A Modern Sir Galahad ....... 200 

Lesson 42. William Penn. 1644-1718. 

A Man who was Fair ....... 206 

Lesson 43. George T. Angell. 1823-1909. 

Who " Spoke for Those that Cannot Speak for Themselves " 211 
Lesson 44. Frances E. Willard. 1839-1898. 

A Pioneer in the Higher Education of Women . . . 216 

Lesson 45. Frances E. Willard. 

Leader of the White Ribbon Host . .« . . . 220 

Lesson 46. Heroes of To-day. 

Men who Count not their Lives Dear unto Themselves . 224 

Lesson 47. Heroines of To-day. 

Leaders in Loving Service ...... 230 

Lesson 48. Review .......... 235 



Note. Each year's work is planned to cover forty-eight lessons only, BO as to 
allow for snecial lessons or general exercises lor Caster. Children's Day, Rally Sun- 
day and Christmas. Classes in schools I hat close during the summer will arrange 
a nine months' course of study either by omitting one of the quarters or, better 
still, by omitting from the entire list, such characters as the teacher or class may 
suggest. The probability that they will he read, warrants the hope that in many 
cases suilicient interest will be aroused to lead to their further study. 



Introduction 

TO THE PUPIL. 

This course of study aims to make you acquainted with a few of 
the men and women who have done great things. Some of these 
persons have won fame, and their names are known all over the 
earth. Others are not so well known, but all have tried to do their 
duty, each in his own way and his own place. 

It is worth while knowing such people. We would have been glad 

to know them in life, and to have any of them for neighbors. Although 

this is not possible for us now, we can come to know them through 

their works and the influence they have left behind them in the world. 

And as our poet Longfellow has sung : 

" Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime." 

Some of these men lived long, long ago, in the days when the Bible 
was written. Some of them lived not so long ago. But all of them 
honored the same God and followed the guidance of His spirit, whether 
ages ago in Palestine, or here in America. For God still speaks to 
His children on earth, and leads them no less truly to-day than He 
did in the days of Abraham and Moses. 

Each lesson will give you a story about the character that is to 
be studied. Read this carefully, and be sure that you understand it. 
Following the story you will find questions and directions for further 
study and some things to do. Some of this work you can do at home, 
and the more you do of it, the greater will be your interest in the whole 
lesson. Most important of all are the questions that call for thought 
about the things you have read. Ask questions of your teacher and 
parents until you are sure you have all the information you need, but 
be careful to do your own thinking. If you are asked to tell what 
you think of any of the characters, give your own honest judgment. 

Take pains to make your note-book as neat and accurate as possible. 

The characters about whom you are studying are worthy of the best 

work you can do in studying them, and you will be proud of your 

work only if it is worthy of them and of yourself. 

" Ay, let us tell the generous tale 
Of giants real and bold, 
Who grew so great they would not stoop 
To gather fame and gold; 

" But hurled the mountains from our path, 
And drained our quagmires dry, 
And held our foes at bay the while 
They bore our weaklings by. 

" Ah, may you miss the dismal tracks 
That aimless feet have trod, 
And follow where our pioneers 

Make open ways to God." — Vautier Golding. 



HEROES OF THE FAITH 

INTERMEDIATE GRADE 



FIRST QUARTER 



Lesson 1. ABRAHAM. A Pioneer of the Olden Time. 

Gen. 11 : 27— 25:8. About 18th century b. c. 
"By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed." Heb. 11:8. 

Abraham's Early Surroundings. If you were to take a 
voyage across the seas to western Asia and sail up from the 
Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf, and then about a hundred 
and fifty miles up the Euphrates river, you would see on the 
right bank a great mound which at first you might think to 
be an ordinary hill. But on looking closely you would suspect 
that men had had something to do with the making of this 
hill. You would be right, for several thousand years ago 
there stood here a great city called Ur of the Chaldees. Prob- 
ably the Persian Gulf then reached as far north as this, so 
that the city was a sea-port. There were many temples. An 
inscription found among the ruins tells that one of these 
was built by Urukh, king of Ur, to the moon-god Sin, the 
chief deity whom the people of the city worshiped. 

Now if you follow the Euphrates about five hundred miles 
farther up you will find a small river, the Balikh, flowing into 
it from the north. About two thirds of the way up this river 
there stood in ancient times another city called Haran. 
Extensive mounds on both sides of the river still testify to 
its former greatness. It was a busy and prosperous place, 
and the people, as in Ur, worshiped the moon-god Sin. Here, 
we are told, there once lived a man named Abraham, who, 
according to some accounts, while still a young man, came 
with his father from Ur. Abraham lived in Haran until 
after his father's death, and enjoyed no doubt the benefits 
of a rich and prosperous civilization that was the best of 
its time. 

Abraham's Migration to Canaan. Along the southeastern 
coast of the Mediterranean lies a region about the size of 

l 



Heroes of the Faith 



Vermont, which in Abraham's time was occupied by wander- 
ing tribes known as Canaanites. The land itself was called 
Canaan, but whether it took its name from the people, or 
from the fact that " Canaanite " means " dweller of the low 
country," is not known. What the immediate motive was 
that turned Abraham's steps in that direction is not stated. 





athg 

Damascus A r a b I a n 
Desert 



English Miles , 
In ,.1 l I L 



/V3.V COPYRIGHT, 1i,906, BIB'LE STUDY PUB. GO. 401 



Map for Tracing Abraham's Journeys. 

He seems to have thought that by going out into this new 
country he might be able to benefit the world at large. What- 
ever may have been his thoughts in the matter, he recognized 
the voice of God not only bidding him to go, but promising 
great blessings to himself, and telling him that he would be- 
come a blessing to the world. And so with his wife, his ser- 
vants, his nephew Lot, and their flocks and herds Abraham 
started for new regions. 

It must have been hard for him to turn his back on his 
home and friends and set out for this unknown land. His 
neighbors no doubt thought him foolish. Men who are real 
leaders, who strike out for themselves, usually have to meet 




Abraham — Lesson One 3 

ridicule. But Abraham's faith was great enough for him to 
make the effort. 

At almost every place where Abraham stopped he built an 
altar to God and worshiped Him. These altars remained 
for many years afterwards, and other people came to worship 
by them, until these places came to be known as sacred, 
and shrines were built at many of them. 

Abraham and Lot. Abraham owned a multitude of sheep 
and cattle, and his nephew, Lot, also had a great many. In 
course of time they had increased so that there was not 
pasturage for all the flocks and herds in any one place. One 
day Abraham took Lot to the top of a hill from which they 
could see the country for a long distance, and said to him, 
" Look over the land and pick out for yourself the place 
which you like best, and I will go to some other place." This 
first choice really belonged to Abraham, as the older man and 
the head of the family; but the younger man selfishly chose 
the best pasture lands, and Abraham let him have them. 

Not long after this, four chieftains from the desert made 
a raid into the region in which Lot had settled and carried 
him with many others into captivity. One who escaped 
brought the news to Abraham. When he had overtaken 
and defeated them, he set free not only Lot but all the other 
captives. With his usual generosity he refused a reward for 
this service. 

The Sacrifice of Isaac. There were a great many strange 
and cruel customs practised in those early days in the name 
of religion. One of the worst of these was the sacrificing of 
children to the gods. Abraham had been accustomed to see 
these sacrifices, and it seemed to him that he ought to show 
honor to God by sacrificing his only son, Isaac, whom he loved 
with all his heart. This was a sad day for him, but he made 
his preparations for it without flinching. As he went to the 
place where he was to perform the sacrifice, no doubt the 
question arose in his mind whether a really just and holy 
God could ask so terrible a thing. This questioning no 
doubt helped to prepare him for the higher revelation of 
God's character that came to him when he had laid Isaac on 
the altar and lifted the knife to slay him. " Lift not thy hand 
upon the lad," came to him as if it were a voice from heaven. 
Gladly he dropped the knife and unbound his beloved son. 



Heroes of the Faith 




From a stereograph, copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood, N. T. 

Mosque at Hebron. 

This mosque is supposed to cover the cave of Mach- 
pelah. Many persons believe that the remains of the 
patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still here, and 
will eventually be brought to light. 



His devotion had been tested to the utmost, and it had not 
failed. He now felt convinced that God was not pleased with 

a sacrifice of this kind. 
This conviction was deep- 
ened by the discovery of a 
ram caught in the bushes, 
just where he had been in- 
tending to sacrifice his son. 
He recognized God's hand 
in this also, and saw that 
God had been leading him 
by the path of obedience to 
a better knowledge of what 
was right. He joyfully 
availed himself of the sub- 
stitute sacrifice that God 
had sent, and the crime of 
human sacrifice was forever 
banished from his religious 
life, and, with rare exceptions, from the religious practices of 
his descendants. 

The Significance of Abraham's Life. By his courage and 
faith in God Abraham became the founder of a great race, 
the Hebrews. He started a movement which resulted in 
giving the world a purer religion and a nobler idea of God 
than men had ever had before. David, the great king, the 
long line of heroic old prophets, and, finally, Jesus Himself, 
our Lord and Saviour, came from this race. All this came 
about, because Abraham so long ago had the courage and 
faith in God to take the first pioneer step in becoming a bless- 
ing to the world. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read Gen. 11:31 — 12:5, and write in the blank space 

following the names of Abraham's father, , his wife, 

, his nephew, 

2. Read Gen. 12:6-10; 13:1-18, and find what is necessary 
to fill in the blanks in the following story. 

Abraham left his home in Haran, when God wished him to 






Abraham — Lesson One 5 

do so, and journeyed to a place called , where 

was the of These oaks, or terebinths, 

were regarded as sacred trees, and people used to worship 
under them. The people living around him were called 

Then he moved to a 

on the east of , where he built an and 

worshiped Jehovah. Soon afterward, there was a 

in the land, and Abraham went down into From 

here he returned to Palestine and went back to 

After a time it became necessary for him to separate from 

because there was not room enough for their flocks in 

any one place. He gave his nephew the first choice, and 

chose the of the which was well wa- 
tered, and made his home near Abraham moved 

to. by the oaks of , where he built 

another 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

3. Draw in your note-book an enlarged outline map of southwestern 
Asia (see map on p. 2), and trace on it the journeys of Abraham, as 
given above. 

4. Read the stories of Abraham's adventures given in Gen. chs. 
13, 14, 18 and 22, and write a story of the one you like best. 

5. Name any other person, either in the Bible or in modern life, 
that you think resembles Abraham. 

6. Select, from such pictures as you can find, the one you prefer 
to illustrate this lesson with, and paste that in your note-book. 

7. Write underneath this picture what the author of Hebrews said 
about Abraham in 11 : 8-10. 

8. In another paragraph in your book write Abraham's traits of 
character that you would like best to have yourself. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn by heart Heb. 11 :8-10. 






6 Heroes of the Faith 

Lesson 2. DAVID LIVINGSTONE. Missionary and Explorer. 

Born March 19, 1813; died May 4, 1873. 

" I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? . . . 
Then I said, Here am I; send me." Is. 6:8. 

Livingstone's Boyhood. Every boy or girl who has been in 
the woods knows something of the delights of exploring. 
Every new turn of the path has something of uncertainty in it. 
You never know what you may come upon around the turn. 
All this is fine play. But suppose you were in one of the track- 
less forests of Africa, where a good part of the way leads 
through swamps into which you sink to your knees, where you 
are tormented by poisonous insects; where malignant fever is 
in the air, where you are surrounded by lions, crocodiles, leop- 
ards and other fierce beasts and reptiles, and where you are in 
the midst of strange and repulsive people who often prove 
treacherous and savage enemies. This exploring is very dif- 
ferent from the kind you have done. David Livingstone faced 
all these and many more dangers, not for pay nor for profit, 
but for the love of his fellow men and the desire to help them. 

You will want to know what kind of boy grew into such a 
man. David's parents lived on a little barren island called 
Ulva, off the west coast of Scotland, close to the island of 
Mull. His father was Neil Livingstone, an honest, hard- 
working man, interested in all that went on in the world. His 
mother was Agnes Hunter, whose ancestors had been driven 
from their homes to caves in the hills, braving torture and 
death rather than do what they believed to be wrong. From 
Ulva they moved to Blantyre, a village about eight miles 
southeast of Glasgow. Here David was born, and here at ten 
years of age he went to work in a cotton mill, for the Living- 
stones were poor. The training to endure hardship thus began 
early. Every week-day, he had to be at his place from six 
o'clock in the morning until eight or nine at night, with little 
time for meals. Most boys would have lost pluck and health 
under the strain, but David was made of sturdy stuff and stood 
it bravely. 

His first earnings he took home to his mother. When he 
was able to lay by money for himself he bought good books, 
and read them while at work. But he never neglected his 
work for the reading. After the day's work was over he went 
to night school and after that studied until his mother fairly 



David Livingstone — Lesson Two 7 

drove him to bed. Do not think that he was always poring 
over books. No boy could beat him at swimming or tramp- 
ing, and he roamed over the countryside about Blantyre until 
he came to know every bird and flower. 

Livingstone's Decision to Become a Missionary. As the 

years went by David giew restless. He was fond of reading 
about men like Henry Martyn, the young missionary to India, 
and about Charles Gutzlaff, medical missionary to China — 
men who did great things — and he wished to be like them. 
From these books he also learned of the wonders of those lands 
and this awoke in him the spirit of travel and exploration. 
One evening as he sat watching the sunset lights die away on 
the hills, and the stars coming out in the heavens, and think- 
ing how beautiful God's world was, he thought of the trouble 
and sorrow created by men's selfishness and greed, and he 
remembered how once, in the stillness of the evening, Jesus 
had gone into an olive grove, and there wept in bitter grief 
over the troubles and sins of men. Then and there it sud- 
denly flashed upon him that he ought to do all in his power to 
help his fellow men. He walked home with eager haste, and 
that night told his parents that he was going to Glasgow to 
study medicine and then go out to the far East to help the 
sick and suffering who had no one to help them. 

It was a hard struggle for a poor boy to earn his way through 
the university, but he triumphed over all difficulties, and 
finally secured his doctor's diploma, and was ordained as a 
missionary. 

How Livingstone was Drawn to Unexplored Africa. Living- 
stone had intended to go to China, but the opium war pre- 
vented him. It was a great disappointment. One day, how- 
ever, he met Robert Moffat, a noted missionary, and heard 
him say that from a single hill-top in Africa he had seen the 
smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary had ever 
been. That fired David's blood, and he asked Dr. Moffat if 
he thought there might be a chance for him to do good work 
there. The reply was, " Yes, if you do not settle down where 
the missionaries already are, but push out into the unexplored 
regions." With his usual energy Livingstone decided at once 
to go to Africa, and before long was on his way. 

Livingstone's Early Explorations in Africa. At Cape Town 
Livingstone was offered a position that would have paid him 






8 



Heroes of the Faith 



well, but he remembered the villages where no missionary had 
been, and pressed on toward the north. At Kuruman, Dr. 
Moffat's station, he married Mary Moffat, a daughter of the 
great missionary. He traveled over trackless regions in an 
ox- wagon, or on a riding ox, and often on foot. The natives 
at first thought that he could not stand the hard journey be- 
cause he was not as big as they. That roused his grit, and he 
soon tired them. His way was beset by dangers. Once a 
rhinoceros made him fly for his life, while she smashed his 
wagon with one thrust of her ugly horn. At another time he 
was attacked by a lion and had his arm crushed by a savage 
bite. He would have been killed had it not been for the 
timely interference of a native. All sorts of perils and dis- 
couragements surrounded him, but what most saddened his 
heart was to see everywhere the cruelties of the slave trade; 
men, women and children taken captive and chained together, 
then driven in long gangs to be sold. Livingstone resolved to 
stop this evil if possible, and worked harder than ever to let 
people know what was going on in the interior of this land. It 

seemed that the 
first thing to be 
done for Africa 
was, not to settle 
down in one place 
and try to convert 
a few natives, but 
to open up the in- 
terior to trade and 
commerce, and to 
persuade Christian 
colonists to come 
there and show 
the natives how 
to live better. He 
therefore decided 
to find some way 
from the interior to 
the west coast, for 
unless good roads 
were opened to 
healthful places, people would not come. So he began a life 
of travel and exploration that was to test all the heroism 




Cape Toi 



OUTLINE MAP OF 

SOUTHERN AFRICA 

Scale of Ml* 



David Livingstone — Lesson Two 9 

him. With an English hunter named Oswell and some natives, 
Livingstone and his family traveled northward until, after 
several failures, he came to Lake Ngami, which no white man 
had ever seen before. They could get no farther for two or three 
years. Finally he had to send his wife and children to England, 
to save them from the hardships that must be met in carrying 
out this work. Then he went on, lonely at heart, with his faith- 
ful black men. After difficulties of almost every imaginable 
kind, having faced death over and over again, he reached St. 
Paul de Loanda, in Portuguese country on the west coast of 
Africa. He was weakened by fever, reduced almost to a skele- 
ton, and bitterly disappointed at finding no news from home. 
A ship was there about to sail for England, and Livingstone 
was urged to go home for rest. He needed it sorely, but he had 
given his word to some native guides and helpers who had come 
a long distance with him that he would return over the same 
route with them to their home. Rather than be untrue to 
them he faced once more all the dangers and wearisomeness of 
that dreadful journey. It is no wonder that the black men 
loved and honored Livingstone, for they soon found that, 
though other men deceived and wronged them, they could 
trust him. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Where is the island of Ulva? the village of Blantyre? 
(Find them on a map of Scotland.) 

2. The ancestors of David Livingstone's mother belonged 
to a religious body called Covenanters. Find out what you 
can about them from encyclopaedias or histories of Scotland. 
What kind of stories do you think his mother would tell him 
about them? 

3. Do you think it was right for Livingstone to go back into 
Africa from St. Paul de Loanda, or should he have gone home 
when he was so ill? 

4. Read at least one good book about Livingstone. One oi 
the best is The Story of David Livingstone, by Vautier Golding. 
Another is David Livingstone, by Thomas Hughes, who wrote 
Tom Brown's Schooldays. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Sketch an enlarged outline map of South Africa (see map on 
p. 8), and trace on it Livingstone's journeys as far as indicated in 



10 Heroes of the Faith 

this lesson. Start from Cape Town at the southern extremity of 
Africa, and run a line northeast to Kuruman; then to the head waters 
of the Limpopo river. At this point Livingstone's work as an explorer 
began. Next run the line northwest to Lake Ngami, and north to 
Sechele on the Zambesi river. Thence the line follows the Zambesi 
to its head waters, and westward to St. Paul de Loanda. From 
Loanda it returns for the most part by the same way, following the 
Zambesi, on which Livingstone discovered the famous Victoria Falls. 
When near the eastern coast, the line leaves the river and runs east- 
ward to Quilimane. This journey and those described in the next 
lesson may be indicated by different colored pencils or inks. 

6. Select a page in your note-book for the story of Livingstone, 
and write down what most interests you in his boyhood. 

7. Write in your note-book the story of any later deed or adventure 
in Livingstone's life that particularly impresses you, 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory Ps. 15:1, 2. 



Lesson 3. DAVID LIVINGSTONE. A Pioneer in Central 

Africa. 

' ' I hold not my life of any account ... so that I may accomplish 
my course." Acts 20:24. 

Livingstone's Work as an Explorer. The story of Living- 
stone's travels in Africa falls naturally into three main divi- 
sions. The first covers his travels as a missionary, in the 
course of which he found a way from Cape Town to Loanda 
on the west coast and then went down the Zambesi river to the 
east coast (see previous lesson). The second covers his work 
in exploring the Valley of the Zambesi and the shores of Lake 
Nyassa; and the third covers his attempts to find the sources 
of the Congo and the Nile in the country north of the Zam- 
besi. On all these journeys he met dangers and difficulties 
that would have discouraged a less heroic man and sent him 
back home. Not only did he have to face savage beasts, 
and equally savage men in the unhealthy wilderness of Africa, 
but he had to meet unfair criticism and faultfinding at home. 
Some people criticised him because they thought he was not 
enough of a missionary, by which they meant that he did not 
preach enough. So he quietly withdrew from the Missionary 
Society and went as a Christian explorer, doing what he 



David Livingstone — Lesson Three 



11 



honestly thought God wanted him to do. In it all he was not 
only brave but wonderfully patient and gentle. Once only 
did he seem for a moment to lose heart, and that was when his 
dearly loved wife, who had rejoined him, died, and he had to 
bury her in the heart of Africa and then go on alone. 

All this time he was using the powers of observation that he 
had cultivated when a boy, and was learning a great deal about 
the country. He wrote two large books which taught the 
world more than had ever been known about Africa. Besides 
this he kept extensive notes and journals of immense scien- 
tific value. But in all this he had one thought always upper- 
most, namely, that by opening up this country and telling 
the people of Christian England what was taking place there, 
he might persuade his countrymen to put a stop to the inde- 
scribable horrors of the slave trade, and bring to the neglected 
natives of Africa the benefits of Christian civilization. 

Livingstone's Work Honored. When Livingstone returned 
to England for the first time, after his missionary journeys, he 
found himself the most famous man of 
the land. Learned societies held special 
meetings to hear him speak, the royal 
family received him, he was fairly show- 
ered with the most distinguished honors 
that his country could give him, and yet 
through it all he remained unspoiled, 
simple, modest, where most men would 
have been made conceited and proud. 
He was with the Turkish ambassador 
once when the crowd cheered him. 
Livingstone said, " These cheers are for 
you." The ambassador replied, " No, I 
am only what my master made me; you 
are what you have made yourself." 

But after all, the love and respect that most deeply touched 
Livingstone's heart, and for which he cared the most, was that 
which he received from the simple-minded blacks in Africa. 
They came to call him " Father." Once when some of the 
slave traders, too cowardly to attack Livingstone themselves, 
tried to get some of the natives to kill him, they replied, " No, 
he is the Good One; we will not kill him." By his kindly 
Christian spirit and unselfish deeds Livingstone won the hearts 




David Livingstone. 



12 Heroes of the Faith 

of these untaught black men, and turned many of them Lorn 
blood-thirsty savages to loyal followers of Jesus Christ. 

Livingstone's Last Journey and his Death. The last of his 
journeys, in search of the Nile and Congo sources, were the 
most severe of all, seven long years of hardship and sickness. 
For two and three years at a time he saw no white face nor 
heard from home. Twice expeditions were sent out to find 
him, and one of these found him just in time to save his life. 
And all the while he was writing the most thrilling letters, 
describing the atrocities of the slave trade, and begging the 
English government to stop it. He told of long lines of men 
and women chained together and driven until they fell from 
exhaustion. He told of finding those who could no longer 
walk tied to trees and left to starve. When these tales of 
inhumanity and cruelty finally reached England, and were 
printed, they aroused not only England but all Europe to put 
down the slave trade and its attendant atrocities. 

Livingstone was now getting to be an old man, sixty years 
of age, and many urged him to come home and rest. But he 
had promised to find the sources of the Nile and open up that 
country, and on he went. His faithful bearers, who loved 
him devotedly, did all they could to take care of him, and 
carried him mile after mile through marsh and flood in the 
swinging chair. At last they came to the village of a chief 
named Chitambo, near the southern shore of Lake Bangweolo. 
As Livingstone was too ill to go further, they built a hut and 
laid him gently in it. Susi, one of his devoted attendants, 
cared for him all next day, and at night Majwara, another of 
his tried followers, stood guard outside the door. At mid- 
night Majwara called, " Come to Bwana (Master), Susi, I am 
afraid." They crept quietly into the hut, and saw their loved 
master, upon his knees beside his bed where he had been pray- 
ing, but his soul had gone home to his Master. 

So passed away one of those rare spirits whose self-devotion, 
patient endurance, boundless courage, and unflinching energy 
have enabled them to open new paths for the progress of the 
human race. Livingstone's wisdom in devoting himself to 
this pioneer work is shown by the fact that it has inspired 
thousands to carry on the enlightening, civilizing, and evan- 
gelizing mission to which he gave his life. " It is a brave thing 
to die for one's fellow men; it is also brave, and often harder, 
to live for them. Livingstone did both." 






David Livingstone — Lesson Three 13 

Livingstone's Resting-place in Westminster Abbey. Living- 
stone's faithful bearers determined that their master's body 
should go back to his own people. The heart they buried 
under the mvula tree. The body was embalmed as ^ell 
as they were able. Then, carefully wrapped, they carried it 
to Bagamoyo near Zanzibar, a hard and perilous journey of 
more than 800 miles. With saddened hearts his friends 
brought his body back to England, where the highest mark 
of honor that can be given to any one at death in Eng- 
land was paid by burial in Westminster Abbey, where all 
the kings and most famous Englishmen are buried. From 
every hand came tributes of sorrow and respect, and one of the 
English papers (Punch) published this poem: 

" Droop, half-mast colors; bow, bareheaded crowds, 
As this plain coffin o'er the side is slung, 
To pass by woods of masts and ratlined shrouds, 
As erst by Afric's trunks, liana-hung. 

11 'Tis the last mile of many thousands trod 

With failing strength, but never failing will, 
By the worn frame, now at its rest with God, 
That never rested from its fight with ill. 

44 Or if the ache of travel and of toil 

Would sometimes wring a short, sharp cry of pain 
From agony of fever, blain, and boil, 

'Twas but to crush it down, and on again ! 

" He knew not that the trumpet he had blown 
Out of the darkness of that dismal land, 
Had reached and roused an army of its own 

To strike the chains from the slave's fettered hand. 

" Now we believe he knows, sees all is well — 

How God had stayed his will and shaped his way 
To bring the light to those that darkling dwell 
With gains that life's devotion well repay. 

11 Open the Abbey doors, and bear him in 

To sleep with king and statesman, chief and sage, 
The missionary come of weaver-kin, 

But great by work that brooks no lower wage. 

He needs no epitaph to guard a name 

Which men shall prize while worthy work is known ; 

He lived and died for good — be- thai his fame; 
Let marble crumble; this is Living-stone." 



14 Heroes of the Faith 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1 Read 1 Cor. 13:4-7, and fill out the following blanks. 
In these verses Paul has described the virtues that Love 
brings to men. Some of these virtues that Livingstone had 

are (/) shown by ; 

(2) , shown by 



(List as many as you can think of, naming with each one 
some incident that appears to illustrate the virtue mentioned.) 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

2. On the outline map of Africa in your note-book trace the general 
course of Livingstone's second and third journeys, as follows: (1) 
Draw a line from Quilimane to Tete, then to Victoria Falls and back 
to Tete, and thence northward along the western shore of Lake Nyassa 
to near *its northern extremity; (2) from the lower end of Lake Nyassa 
to the lower end of Lake Tanganyika, thence past Lake Mweru to 
Lake Bangweolo, then back to Lake Tanganyika up its western coast 
and across to Ujiji, thence recrossing the lake continue the line to the 
Lualaba River, and back to Ujiji, where Livingstone was found by 
Stanley and with him explored the northern end of the lake; thence, 
finally, along the eastern shore of Tanganyika to the southern shore 
of Lake Bangweolo, where Livingstone died. 

3. Write in your note-book some of the best things that Livingstone 
taught the world. 

4. Write a short paragraph giving your judgment of his character. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn for use as a declamation the poetic tribute to Livingstone 
given in the lesson story. 



Moses — Lesson Four 



15 



Lesson 4. MOSES. The Liberator of the Hebrews* 

Ex. chs. 1-15. About 13th century b.c. 

" By faith Moses . . . [chose] rather to share ill treatment with 
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin." Heb. 11: 
24, 25. 

The Birth and Childhood of Moses. You have heard the 
story of the little basket boat hidden in the reeds by the river's 
bank, and the baby lying safe 
within, while his sister watched 
near by. I think that you know 
who this baby was, and that it was 
to save him from being thrown 
to the crocodiles of the Nile, as 
Pharaoh had ordered, that his 
mother made this little ark and 
put him in it. I am not so sure, 
however, that every one knows 
who his father and mother were, or 
the name of the sister who watched 
him so faithfully; yet this is worth 
knowing, for this baby became the 
great teacher of his people, " Moses 
the liberator," and those who help 
to bring up a great man deserve 
this much honor at least. At the 
end of this story you will find a 
place to write their names, after 
you have learned them. 

Moses was a Hebrew, one of the 
same race that Abraham wished to make a blessing to the 
world, and he had much to do with helping to make Abraham's 
wish come true. The days of his childhood were dark days for 
the Hebrews, or " children of Israel," as they are often called 
in the Bible stories. They were slaves, held in cruel bondage. 
The old monuments of Egypt still preserve pictures of Egyp- 
tian slaves doing heavy tasks under the lash of brutal masters. 
But in spite of this ill treatment the Hebrews increased until 
their masters began to fear that they might become so numer- 
ous as to be able some day to throw off the yoke of bondage. 
It was this fear which led to the cruel decree that every baby 
boy born to the Hebrews should be thrown into the river. 




Colossal Statue of Rameses II. 

The Pharaoh of the Oppression, in the 
doorway of a temple at Thebes. 



16 Heroes of the Faith 

When the mother of Moses could no longer hide him from 
the Egyptians, she felt that she must trust him to the care 
of God alone. That is why she put her babe into the basket 
boat, and set it afloat among the river reeds. Safe and 
sound he lay there, for the great God who rules in heaven had 
work for this little lad to do, and every one is safe in God's 
care. So there he lay, gently rocking on the waves, until 
the princess from the royal palace came that way to bathe, 
and one of her maidens found the child. You have heard, 
no doubt, how the princess took pity on the little waif and 
decided to adopt him. Just here the quick wit of Moses' 
sister, who had been watching from a distance, served him a 
good turn. Running up to the princess, she said, " Shall I 
call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" 
Permission was given, and she called her mother. So Moses 
grew up under the protection of the royal family. He was 
given a good education, and the best part of it was the stories 
told to him by his mother of the glorious history and hopes of 
his own people. 

A Chivalrous Spirit. Moses grew to manhood, strong in 
body and mind, with a chivalrous spirit quick to sympathize 
with any who were in trouble. One day when he was living 
at court as the princess' adopted son, he saw an Egyptian 
mistreating one of the Hebrews. He ran to help the weaker 
party, and, in defending him, killed the Egyptian. This be- 
came known, and Moses had to leave the country to save 
his own life. He fled into the wilderness about Mount Sinai. 

In the land of Midian he came to a well, by which he sat 
down to rest. Some young women came with their flocks 
to water them, but some men attempted to drive them away 
and to water their own flocks first. Though a fugitive, 
Moses still had the chivalrous spirit that he had when a court 
favorite. He went to the aid of the young women, and not 
only drove away the men, but drew water and helped the 
girls water their flocks. This incident evidently impressed 
one of the young women very favorably, for later she became 
Moses' wife. 

The Life Work of Moses Begun. Moses lived in Midian for 
many years, helping tend the flocks of his father-in-law, and 
having a very peaceful time. But he could not forget the 
sufferings of his oppressed people back in Egypt. Nor could 



Moses — Lesson Four 



17 




Slaves Making Brick in Egypt. 



he escape a feeling that in some way he ought to help them. 
This feeling was turned into a clear conviction by a revelation 
that God wanted him to go back to them and set them free 
from bondage. So he returned to Egypt and began a strug- 
gle that was fine to see. On one side was the king with all 
his power, on the other a captive people with one strong, 
brave man for their leader. Moses demanded that Pharaoh 
let the Hebrews have a little rest, that they might have time 
to worship God. Pharaoh replied by making their tasks 
harder than ever. Moses renewed his demands, and told the 
king plainly that God would punish the Egyptians if these 
just demands were not granted. 
The king would not listen. 
Then came a series of frightful 
plagues that drove the Egyp- 
tians almost to desperation. 
The water became foul so that no 
one could drink it, frogs overran 
the country, flies, a fatal cattle 
disease, terrific hail storms, 
blighted crops, locusts — all came 
upon them. The Egyptian king recognized in each one of 
these calamities a punishment from Jehovah, but as soon as 
the trouble was past he was as hard hearted and unjust as ever. 
At last there came a dreadful night in which a mysterious 
disease fell upon the people, and in every Egyptian home 
the firstborn son lay dead. Then the Hebrews were not only 
allowed to depart — they were almost driven away. They 
marched forth, a mighty host, with Moses at their head. 
But soon the greed of the king got the upper hand, and he 
sent his army to bring back the escaped slaves to work for 
him again. They were overtaken just as they reached the 
Red Sea or, more accurately, an arm of the same which then 
extended northward from what is now called the Gulf of Suez. 
Look at the map and you will see in what a trap the Israelites 
were. They were probably facing the string of Bitter Lakes 
on the isthmus, which in former times seem to have been con- 
nected one with another and with the gulf by shallow water. 
To the north was the great wall of Egypt defended by strong 
garrisons against attacks from the East. To the south were 
high mountains and desert which barred the way, and behind 
them were the Egyptian*. 



IS Heroes of the f 

It must have looked for a time as if all were lost. But, while 
the people wailed and cried and cast reproaches upon Moses 
for bringing them into this evil place, he never wavered. 
He had confidence that God who had brought them thus 
far would not fail them now. Suddenly he shouted, in tones 
that made the most cowardly of them listen and obey, " Fear 
ye not ! Stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which 
he will work for you to-day ! The Egyptians whom ye have 
seen to-day. ye shall see them again no more fore" And 

then a strong wind, which God used to save His people, blew 
back the waters from the lake so as to expose a shallow place 
which permitted the people to pass over. "The Egyptians came 



A - : ' e - : V. = 
^r £-: ":-•; = ;;;- 

SUCCOTH 
Zr.:r.z : % E ^igfi ■ . 

'■■■ s-s itm&z™ * 

\ ""Land of S- - - -^ ■■=f^^_ — r- t ^sli= i j5 , r^ % ^' 

E s ~"-^5p\ - 

EiTz-u f 

ROUTE OF THE ISRAELITES ; 

From Goshen to the ^ildemeas 



; I 1: 

Jftrfi i m nmmea m. Italia 




on after them, but their heavy chariots sank to the hubs in the 
soft mud; the horses could not make headway, and, before 
they could get over, the returning waters caught them and 
drowned them all. 

For a short time the Hebrews could hardly understand 
that they were really saved from their enemies. Then they 
-rized their musical instruments and began to dance and to 
sing for joy. In Exodus ch. 15 we find their song of thank- 
fulness, beginning: 

" I will sing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously: 
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 
Jehovah is my strength and song, 
And he is become my :>n: 

This is my God, and' I will praise him; 
My father's God, and I will exalt him." 



Moses — Lesson Four 19 

They never forgot this day, nor ceased to celebrate it in 
song and story, just as we celebrate our national holidays 
and sing songs about them. It gave them greater confidence 
in Moses as their leader and greater faith in God, who had 
saved them. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read Numbers 26:59, and write the names of Moses* 
father, , mother, , and 

sister, 

2. Read some of the songs that were written by Hebrew 
poets in memory of such deliverances, such as Psalms 114, 
115, 121, 124, 135 or 136. What is the main thought that 
runs through all these? 

3. What things in the boyhood and young manhood of 
Moses helped to fit him for the great work he did in later life ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

4. Write a heading for the story of Moses on a new page of your 
note-book. Select from the Brown, Perry, or Wilde pictures one with 
which to illustrate the lesson, perhaps that of Moses and Aaron before 
Pharaoh, by Dore, or a picture of the Crossing of the Red Sea, and 
paste it in your book. Write underneath the picture the verse you 
think best fitted for a motto, either from the story in Exodus or from 
one of the Psalms referred to, under " Directions for Study." 

5. Write a short story of any incident that you prefer from the 
early life of Moses. 

6. Write the story of any incident in modern life, your own ex- 
perience if possible, that you think illustrates God's care. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn one of the Psalms above mentioned. 



20 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 5. MOSES. The Hebrew Lawgiver and Judge. 

Ex. 16:1—20:21; 24:1-8; Deut. ch. 34. 

"Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto 
his friend." Ex. 33: 11. 

Moses' New Task. After the overthrow of the Egyptian 
army at the Red Sea, the Hebrews were a free people, so far 
as their former bondage was concerned, and they looked to 
Moses as the man to whom they owed more than to any one 
else. But the next thing they had to learn was how to use 
their freedom. They were delivered from the lash of the 
taskmaster, but now they must learn to govern themselves, 
for freedom without self-control is very nearly as bad as 
slavery. Indeed, such freedom will surely lead into bondage 
of some kind. So Moses found a new task before him ; that 
of teaching the people how to govern themselves, and this 
task was longer and more difficult than that of freeing them 
from Pharaoh's oppression. 

The Covenant at Sinai. Of one thing Moses was quite 
sure — this was that the people must learn to know God and 

obey Him, if they 
would become a 
great nation. 
Therefore he 
wished to have 
them enter into 
a solemn agree- 
ment, or "cove- 
nant," as it was 
called, with God ; 
and for this pur- 
pose he determined 
first of all to lead 
them to the sacred 
mountain where it 
was then thought 
that God had His 
special dwelling- 
place. This moun- 

Map of the Sinaitic Peninsula. tain Was called 

The heavy dotted line ehow9 the traditional route in case Mount Q-i-n Q i n r l-TnrpV* 

Sinai was in the southern part of the peninsula. The other shows the Oliidi, Ui xxuicu, 

probable route to Elath (Elim) and to Sinai-Horeb if that peak was -n/-3 i+ ttto o •nrv^'h 

situated in the land of Midian. anQ ll WaS ^rOP- 




eth "! 1# |«Jericho 

^bSfe^ 60 
* (Jerusfi lei7i)&, | r » 3 ». 

-V Hebron J %J , J . ^ 

V Beer-sl\eba? g^f ! \ 

T %fiJo)|a \ 

/ i j if a i 

<Wilderness'e r --# - : cj3^ I 

■; \ /# im f i 

: Kadesh-bartiea •__. [®i ~ : / 



i /C 



*\« 



^ijjp-Creber 






ft? 
1 



traditional Route — — - 
' of the Israelites 



Possible Route •< 
of the Israelites 



Moses — Lesson Five 



21 




Moses. 

By Michael Angelo. 



ably one of the peaks at the southern end of the range called 
Seir, in the land of Midian, south of the Dead Sea. 

It was not strange that these people in ancient times 
should think that God lived on the 
mountain top, as you will under- 
stand if you have ever seen a very 
high mountain reaching away up 
into the clouds, perhaps with snow 
covering its peak. And you can 
imagine their awe when they stood 
at the foot of Sinai and saw its top 
surrounded with thick clouds, out 
of which came crashing peals of 
thunder and vivid flashes of light- 
ning. To them this was the very 
voice of God, and they trembled 
greatly. It was under such circumstances that the covenant 
with God was made after the manner of the ancient Semitic 
peoples. 

The Ten Commandments. The law that Moses gave to the 
people centered mostly about what is called The Decalogue, 
or The Ten Commandments. The original form of these 
is somewhat different from that which we learn now, but 
the present form is the one that has the most meaning for us. 
These commandments really sum up our duties to God and to 
our fellow beings, and they should be thoroughly memorized. 
Here is a short form of them : 

I. THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE 

ME. 
II. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE FOR THYSELF ANY 
GRAVEN IMAGE. 

III. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE 

LORD THY GOD IN VAIN. 

IV. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT 

HOLY. 
V. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. 
VI. THOU SHALT NOT KILL. 
VII. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. 
VIII. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. 
IX. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSI: WITNESS. 
X. THOU SHALT NOT COVET. 




22 



Heroes of the Faith 



Moses told the people that if they would hearken to God's 
voice and keep His commandments, He would surely bless 
them, and the people solemnly promised that they would do 
as God commanded. But it is always easier to promise than to 
keep one's promises, and the Hebrews had before them many 
long and weary years of trial and failure before they really 
understood what God wanted them to do. During many years 
Moses acted as judge of their disputes, taught them all he 
could, and kept his patience wonderfully through many trials. 
He never could have done it had he not felt sure that God 
was with him as his constant Friend and Helper. 

The Death of Moses. At last the Hebrews came to the 
borders of Canaan, the land of their fathers, Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob, a land so rich and fertile that men called 
it " a land flowing with milk and honey." From the high 
mountains on the east of the Jordan the people could look 
over to the fertile hills and valleys of their future home. 
But Moses was not permitted to enter it. He was a very old 




Mount Nebo. 



man, and died before the people crossed over to conquer the 
land. They left him there on Mount Nebo alone with his 
God. They said that God Himself buried Moses, but where, 
no one knows. It was a fitting close to a life that had been 
spent with God. 



The Burial of Moses. 

By Nebo's lonely mountain, 
On this side Jordan's wave, 

In - a vale in the land of Moab, 
There lies a lonely grave; 



Moses — Lesson Five 23 



And no man built that sepulcher, 

And no man saw it e'er; 
For the angels of God upturned the sod, 

And laid the dead man there. 

That was the grandest funeral 

That ever passed on earth ; 
Yet no man heard the, trampling, 

Or saw the train go forth. 
Noiselessly as the daylight 

Comes when the night is done, 
And the crimson streak on Ocean's cheek 

Grows into the great sun; 

Noiselessly as the spring-time 

Her crown of verdure weaves, 
And all the trees on all the hills 

Unfold their thousand leaves; 
So without sound of music, 

Or voice of them that wept, 
Silently down from the mountain's crown 

The great procession swept. 



This was the bravest warrior 

That ever buckled sword ; 
This the most gifted poet 

That ever breathed a word ; 
And never earth's philosopher 

Traced with his golden pen 
On the deathless page, truths half so sage 

As he wrote down for men. 

And had he not high honor? 

The hillside for his pall ! 
To lie in state while angels wait 

With stars for tapers tall, 
And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes 

Over his bier to wave ; 
And God's own hand in that lonely land, 

To lay him in his grave ! 



O lonely tomb in Moab's land ! 

O dark Beth-peor's hill ! 
Speak to these curious hearts of ours, 

And teach them to be still. 
God hath His mysteries of grace, 

Ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep 

Of him He loved so well." 

— Cecil Frances Alexander. 




24 Heroes of the Faith 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story of the giving of the covenant at Sinai, 
as told in Ex. 19:1—20:21 and 24:1-8. What was God's 
promise (19:6)? What was its condition (19:5)? What 
did the people promise (24 : 7) ? 

2. Why is it important that a free people should know how 
to govern themselves? 

3. What harm occurs if people fail to obey the rules of a 
game, or the laws of a land? 

4. Who make the laws in our own land ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Select a picture for this lesson. Michael Angelo's statue of 
Moses is a good one, also Tissot's picture of Moses and the Ten Com- 
mandments. Paste the picture in your book and on the opposite 
page write the Ten Commandments. You might draw two tablets 
with rounded tops and print the commandments neatly on them, 
using the short form given in this lesson. 

6. Write beneath the Commandments the form of the covenant 
as found in Ex. 19:5, 6 (ending with " a holy nation ") and the re- 
sponse of the people (24:7 last half). 

7. Write in your book what you think was the secret of Moses' 
success as a leader. Was it learning, patience, sympathy, or what? 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn as a declamation The Burial of Moses (preferably the 
entire poem, given in Longfellow's compilation Poems of Places, Asia), 
or Israel's declaration of faith (Deut. 6:4-9), which is a part of one of 
the orations of Moses. 



Lesson 6. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. Who Aroused a 
Nation's Conscience. 

Born June 14, 1811 ; died July 1, 1896. 

" That also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a 
memorial of her." Mt. 26:13. 

Thirteen Children and Little Money. Harriet Beecher Stowe 
was number seven in a family of thirteen children, a family 
from which more literary men and women have come than 
from any other in the history of America. Harriet was a 
sister of the celebrated Henry Ward Beecher, and her father 



Harriet Beecher Stowe — Lesson Six 25 

was the Rev. Lyman Beecher. It was a home of poverty 
that she was born into, with " no carpets on the floor and 
plenty of economy in the kitchen/' The first carpet they 
ever had was made by Harriet's mother. She laid cotton 
cloth upon the floor, and painted it with oils. She must 
have done it well, for when one of the deacons of the church 
called soon after, he stopped short upon the threshold. " Step 
in, step in," said Mr. Beecher. " Why, I can't," responded 
the deacon, " without stepping on it. Do you think you can 
have all that and heaven too? " 

But this poverty did not hurt Harriet or any of the family. 
It seems rather to have developed habits of industry and 
self-reliance that made them the strong, effective people they 
afterward became. 

Work and Play. Harriet soon learned the mysteries of 
housekeeping, and at the same time had plenty of time to 
enjoy the fields and forests and all out-of-doors. She was ex- 
ceptionally bright, quick to take in everything, and with her 
own share of mischief. One day, when their mother was out, 
the children found a package of " onions," as Harriet called 
them. The rest seem to have had their doubts about the 
" onions," but Harriet persuaded them that they were good, 
and her mother returned just in time to discover that the 
choice tulip bulbs which her brother had sent from New York 
had all been eaten up. Harriet loved books and school. 
The conversation in her father's family was of such a nature 
as to prove not only interesting but profitable. Even the 
children learned to talk and think about things really worth 
while, and this all came back in rich measure in her later life. 
In those days there were not many books, and very, very few 
that were written for children. When Harriet was six or 
seven years old she went exploring in the garret and found a 
barrel full of old sermons and pamphlets. She hauled them 
over and found way down at the bottom a copy of The Arabian 
Nights. She knew nothing about it but that it was a book, 
and that was enough. She sat down, and was soon lost to all 
the world in her delight over this new treasure. 

Her Religious Awakening. When Harriet was fourteen 
years of age she heard her father preach on Jesus as a Friend. 
Dr. Beecher spoke that day very simply and earnestly, and 
the sermon came as a great blessing to his little girl. She 



26 



Heroes of the Faith 



realized how much she needed the kind of friend that her 
father was speaking of, a friend who would be always sym- 
pathetic and compassionate, and she decided that she would 
have Him for her own Friend. She went home and said to 
her father, " Father, I have given myself to Jesus." This 
was the beginning of new happiness in her own life, for the 
resolution made that day found constant expression in a 
brave, loyal life of service and devotion to duty. 

The Wife and Mother. It was to have been expected that 
such a girl would make a good woman and a good wife. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe was both. 
It must have been hard for her, 
with all the splendid talents she 
had, to attend faithfully to the 
petty drudgery of household 
tasks, but she did it with cheer- 
fulness. Her son tellsof some 
amusing attempts to combine 
literary work with housekeeping. 
She was trying to direct Mina, 
the colored girl, how to cook, and 
at the same time endeavoring to 
dictate to a friend a story that 
she was composing. The result 
was something like this: "Her 
lover wept with her, nor dared he again touch the point so 
sacredly guarded — Mina, roll that crust a little thinner — He 
spoke in soothing tones — Mina, poke down those coals in the 
oven. — ' What is this life to one who has suffered as I have?' 
— ' Shall I put in the brown or the white bread first?' asked 
Mina." 

Slavery and Uncle Tom's Cabin. This Mina was a colored 
girl whom Mr. and Mrs. Stowe had saved from being carried 
back into slavery. At this time the country was divided 
into slave and free states. In the former, slavery was allowed, 
but not in the latter. But a law had been passed, called the 
Fugitive Slave Law, which permitted any owner to pursue 
a slave who had escaped into the free states, and take him 
back, and which forced the people of the free states not only 
to allow him to do so but even to assist him. This led to 
many cruel and heartrending scenes, such as were connected 




Used by permission of the Houghton, 

Harriet Beecher Stowe. 



Harriet Beecher Stowe — Lesson Six 27 

with slavery. Families were separated, children being taken 
from their parents, and wives from their husbands, and the 
captives often sent back to unspeakably cruel bondage. All 
this aroused in Mrs. Stowe a passionate hatred of slavery. 
With many other people she felt that the Fugitive Slave Law 
was an infamous measure and opposed to the higher law of 
God and the commands of brotherly love and kindness. 
Nevertheless, few people dared publicly to denounce the law. 
The few abolitionists in New England who lifted their voices 
against slavery were despised as fanatics. The system which 
had entrenched itself in the constitution of the United States 
threatened to extend itself over the northern as well as the 
southern states. An agitation against it seemed to imperil 
the national union. The history of those days is full of ex- 
citing incidents connected with the attempts of slaves to es- 
cape from their bondage, and the efforts of the more humane 
of the white people in the free states to help them, even at the 
risk of being themselves punished. 

Mrs. Stowe felt all this very keenly. One day she received 
a letter from her sister-in-law, describing some of the 
sad things that were happening, and then added: " If I could 
use the pen as you can, I would write something that would 
make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery 
is." The idea inspired her, and she exclaimed, " I will write 
something. I will, if I live! " The next Sunday while in 
church the plan of the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin came into 
her mind. She began to write, and published the story first 
as a serial in The Era, of Washington. Notwithstanding the 
unpopularity of the subject, there was great demand for it, 
and in 1852 it was published in book form. Over three 
hundred thousand copies were sold in one year. It has been 
translated into nineteen different languages, and it is esti- 
mated that 3,000,000 copies have been sold. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin did more to strike a death-blow at 
slavery than all the speeches and tracts and arguments that 
were written and delivered. It is a thrilling and pathetic 
story, arid made Mrs. Stowe famous as an author, but she 
did not care half so much about that as for the way in which 
the book aroused the conscience of the nation. The secret 
of its power was that it made the characters it told about 
seem intensely real and human to all who read it. There 
were many people who had almost doubted whether negroes 



28 Heroes o] the Faith 

were really human beings, and others who denied flatly that 
they had souls. But Ihu le Touts Cabin made the characters 

of Uncle Tom, and Eliza, and Topsy, and the rest so real, 
and at the same time showed so clearly how dreadful slavery 
was, even when the slaves were kindly treated, that thou- 
sands whom arguments had failed to move, were aroused to 
indignation and pity. 

There were many, of course, who were not convinced, hut 
who none flic less recognized flic tremendous power which 
this hook would exert. Mrs. Sfowe received letters from 
many in whom the story aroused savage enmity. Some of 

these Letters contained abuse and even threats, and the in- 
mates of her home slept with firearms ready, and a large bell 
with which to call the young men of the adjoining Lane 

Seminary in case a mob should attack the house. But Mrs. 
StOWe also lived to See the day when, though at the cost of a 
long and terrible war, slavery was at last banished from our 
land. 

On her seventieth birthday, a garden party was given in 
her honor at Newtonville, Massachusetts. Two hundred of 

the best known literary men and women of the land were 
there, all of whom honored her as the one who had done most 
to brine, justice and freedom to the slave. And all over the; 
South there were many who read with new understanding and 
great joy the words that Jesus quoted from Isaiah: 

11 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
Because he hnth anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: 
lie hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, 
And recovering of sight to the blind, 
To set at liberty them that are bruised." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. In what, kind of home did Mrs. vStowe pass her girlhood? 

2. What were the results of her early training? 

3. What great moral and political question was agitating 

the country during her lifetime? 

4. What was the Fugitive Slave Law? the Underground 

Railway? (Look them np in a United States history or an 

encyclopaedia.) 

5. Do you think it was right for people to assist slaves to 
escape from bondage, when this was against the law? 



Samuel Chapman Armstrong — Lesson Seven 29 

6. What gave Uncle Tom's Cabin such great influence in 
helping to bring about the abolition of slavery? ( v See story 
above.) 

7. What does this suggest as to the best way of overcom- 
ing unworthy prejudice against people, or classes of people? 

8. What did Jesus icach about the relations of masters 
and servants? (Mt. 23:10-12.) 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, 1811-1896, as a head- 
ing for a new page in your book. Paste on this page a portrait of 
Mrs. Stowe (Brown Pictures No. 31, Perry Pictures No. 40). Then 
write a short story about her and what she accomplished. 

10. Find out what you can about any negroes who have been use- 
ful in the world, or have become famous. Make a list of them, with 
the thing for which each one is best known. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Eph. 4 :32. 



Lesson 7. SAMUEL CHAPMAN ARMSTRONG. A Pioneer 
in the Education of the Freedmen. 

Born Jan. 30, I830;died May 1 1, 1893. 

" In diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." 
Rom. 12:11. 

Life in a Boy's Paradise. If you had been living in Hono- 
lulu about the year L850, and had gone down to the beach, 
you might have seen a lot of happy little fellows, barefooted, 
with trousers rolled up and hair flying in the wind, rushing 
in and out of the water, sailing boats and having a fine time 
generally. It would probably not have taken you long to 
single out one of the boys, a slim, light-haired lad, easily 
noticed for his fun and liveliness, a leader of all the rest. 
And if you had asked his name, some one would have replied, 
"Why, that's Sam Armstrong; you ought to know him." 
And you would have enjoyed knowing him, for lie wOuld 
have led you a merry chase through every kind of SpOrt, 
swimming, boating, horseback riding, and all Other thi 
in which boys delight. 

Samuel Chapman Armstrong was born on one oi the neigh- 



30 Heroes of the Faith 

boring islands, called Maui, where the extinct volcano of 
Haleakala pokes its giant crater into the sky ten thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. His father and mother were 
missionaries in the days when the missionaries were also 
statesmen, helping to build up the government as well as 
teaching the people about Jesus Christ and His religion. And 
these missionary boys were just as lively and mischievous 
as other boys, just as fond of going barefooted, which they 
could do all the year round in that climate, and just as un- 
willing to be dressed up for Sundays. Samuel Armstrong 
says of those days : 

" Molasses and water was bliss to us, and ginger cake was too 
good to be true. We went barefoot, we were hungry and felt the 
ferule about our hands and shoulders, and had our lunches stolen 
by the other hungry boys, and had prayer-meeting out among the 
rocks, and learned seven honest verses by heart for Sunday school, 
besides the catechism at home. The small boy of to-day tries to be 
a gentleman, which we never dreamed of : our ambition was to de- 
light in native rollicking freedom, in sea, in salt ponds and wild 
mountains." 

He tells of many queer scenes in that semi-pagan country, 
how the natives would bring their dogs to church and sit 
unmoved while the little curs fought, and how these natives 
delighted in squeaky' shoes, the louder the better. A man 
would often come walking noisily into church, sit down and 
pass his shoes out through the window for his wife to put on 
before entering, thus adding to the family glory by the added 
noise. 

And with the fun was plenty of hard, honest work at home 
and at school. Samuel's early schooling was received at the 
Royal School at Punahou, founded for the training of young 
chiefs. Some manual work was required of every pupil, 
and Samuel did his stint of hoeing in the field, even interfering 
with nature by digging up the melon seeds to see if they had 
started. But everywhere he did his work well. 

When he went to Oahu College, he was asked to take a 
class in geometry whose teacher had given it up for a time. 
It was a severe test for a young undergraduate, but the same 
spirit that made him the undisputed leader on the athletic 
field carried him through this task. As a teacher he seldom 
looked at his book during the class exercise, and this inspired 
the class to do likewise, with the consequence that when the 
public examination came, at the end of the year, these boys 



Samuel Chapman Armstrong — Lesson Seven 31 

surprised the examiners and every one else in the school with 
their feats of memory. 

Samuel, like all the sons of missionaries, had to earn his 
own pocket money, which he accomplished in a variety of 
ways, acting as tax-assessor, book-keeping, supervising 
schools, and editing a paper. 

College Days. In 1860, his father, Richard Armstrong, 
died, and Samuel sailed soon after for America to enter Wil- 
liams College. The impression he made upon his fellow 
students in that quiet New England college town must have 
been startling. One of his classmates said that he could best 
be described in the eastern Tennessee dialect as " plumb 
survigrous." " He could manage a boat in a storm, teach 
school, edit a newspaper, assist in carrying on a government, 
take up a mechanical industry at will, understand the natives, 
sympathize with the missionaries, talk with profound the- 
orists, recite well in Greek or mathematics, conduct an ad- 
vanced class in geometry, and make no end of fun for little 
children." He was full to the brim with good cheer, true 
manliness, and the spirit of useful service. He had thoughts 
of studying for the ministry, but could not abide the unduly 
solemn way in which some people looked upon that calling. 
He had the spirit of the pioneer that drives men to strike 
out and do things, and he used to say that he would become 
either a missionary or a pirate. 

Fighting for the Right. During the last of Armstrong's 
college days there was much excitement over the war. Many 
of the college men were enlisting, and soon after graduation 
Armstrong was in Troy, New York, enlisting a company. 
He soon made a reputation for two things: strict discipline 
and perfect fairness. These two traits he always showed, 
and they won for him the respect and affection of his men. 
When the regiment went into camp after a hard march, in- 
stead of at once seeking the best spot for himself, as many 
officers did, Armstrong's first thought and care was for his 
men, to see that they were comfortable and well cared for. 
When his regiment went into battle, Armstrong was con- 
spicuous for bravery and coolness. He would take care to 
see that his men were as well protected as possible, while he 
often exposed himself to the fire of the enemy without flinch- 
ing. The result of all this was that his men would follow 



32 Heroes of the Faith 

him anywhere, and do anything for him. In the disastrous 
retreat from Harper's Ferry, his company was one of the few 
who came away in any order at all. 

One great secret of Armstrong's bravery in battle was the 
fact that he was conscious all the while that he was ready to 
die. He had a clear conscience, he had performed every 
duty he had undertaken to the best of his ability, and death 
had no terrors for him. 

Leading the Colored Troops. After the emancipation of 
the slaves, Armstrong felt more interest in the cause for 
which he was fighting than ever before. He felt that slavery 
was now clearly denned as the underlying cause of the war, 
and he was willing to do and dare anything for the cause of 
freedom. Accordingly, when colored troops began to be 
enlisted, he sought a position as colonel in command of a 
regiment of them. Only the best officers were chosen for 
this work. Many people thought that the negroes, who had 
always been slaves, with no responsibility, would not fight, 
and that they could not be disciplined or controlled. Be- 
sides, the officers of colored regiments would be in particular 
danger, for the Confederate troops had threatened to treat 
them with special severity if they were captured. But the 
negro soldiers proved to be as loyal, brave and efficient as 
any, and Armstrong's men won particular distinction. 

The Freedmen's Bureau. After the war was over, Arm- 
strong found himself a general at the age of twenty-five. 
He thought of going into the government service, but was so 
disgusted with the crowd of office seekers who seemed to care 
for nothing but getting easy work with big pay, that he gave 
up the idea. He found such a position as he wanted, how- 
ever, in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned 
Lands. It was the task of this bureau to build up the busi- 
ness of the South after the war. Many plantations had been 
abandoned, there were people who had lost their slaves and 
did not know how to work without them, and there were 
slaves who did not know what to do with their new-found 
liberty. And so the country was divided up into districts 
and the agents of the Freedmen's Bureau had to be business 
managers, judges, police officers, and friends to every one. 

All kinds of troubles came up for settlement, and General 
Armstrong had to straighten them out with the assistance of 



Samuel Chapman Armstrong — Lesson Seven 33 

associates appointed by the whites and the blacks. One 
can easily imagine the tact, wisdom and patience that it re- 
quired to do such a work successfully. 

Hampton and Industrial Education. In his dealings with 
the negroes General Armstrong saw clearly that what they 
most needed was to be taught to help themselves. They 
must be taught to work, not like cattle driven under the 
whip, but intelligently and efficiently. He conceived the 
idea of a school where the young colored people might be 
trained to become teachers and good workers and so go out 
to help elevate their own race. He suggested the idea to 
the American Missionary Association, and they promptly 
asked him to be the head of the school. With wonderful faith 
and clear insight into just what needed to be done, he threw 
himself into this work, and built up at Hampton, Virginia, 
the splendid institute that now stands there, where hundreds 
of young colored people and Indians have been educated and 
trained for good work in the world. He raised money for 
it at the North, he taught and supervised and looked after 
the social life of the students; he seemed to be everywhere, 
and to do admirably everything to which he put his hand. 

General Armstrong's Ideals for Life. General Armstrong 
was a thorough Christian, and Christianity meant to him 
doing one's duty honestly and well. 
He gloried in doing the hard thing, 
and he always tried to get this same 
spirit into his students. He was very 
fond of telling a story about a wood- 
chuck that was chased by a dog. The 
only way to get away was to climb a 
tree, but woodchucks can't climb 
trees. This woodchuck had to, and 
he did. General Armstrong used to 
tell his young people that they should 
be thankful for the necessity that 
made them do the hard tasks, for 
through hard work they would de- Samuel Chapman Armstrong, 
velop character. In his school work he showed the same 
qualities that had marked him in the army. He was severe 
on those who were lazy or careless, but he was always fair. 
And his severity was always lightened by a gleam of fun that 




34 Heroes of the Faith 

never left him even to the last of his life. In a talk to his 
students he once said, " Spend your life in doing what you 
can well. Do what you can do well, and people will respect 
it and respect you. This is what the world wants of every 
one." 

When General Armstrong died, the commanding officer 
of Fortress Monroe asked the privilege of giving him full 
military honors at his funeral, an unusual honor for one not 
in the active service. He was buried among his students 
who had died at the school, and his grave was marked with 
a block of Williamstown granite at one end, and of Hawaiian 
volcanic rock at the other. But his finest monuments are 
the splendid school where the young people of less favored 
races are being trained to do their work in the world, and 
the lives of young men and women on whom the influence 
of General Armstrong has left its enduring mark. As they 
laid him to rest in the grave his students sang Julia Ward 
Howie's Battle Hymn of the Republic: 

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; 
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; 
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword, 
His truth is marching on. 

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps; 
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; 
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps, 
His day is marching on. 

I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel; 
" As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal"; 
Let the hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, 
Since God is marching on. 

He hath sounded forth the trumpet which shall never call retreat; 
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat; 
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him ! be jubilant, my feet ! 
Our God is marching on. 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; 
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, 
While God is marching on. 

Among General Armstrong's papers was found this word 
that he had written some time before his death: " It pays 



Samuel Chapman Armstrong — Lesson Seven 35 

to follow one's best light — to put God and country first, our- 
selves afterwards." 



DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Where was Samuel Armstrong born, and when? How 
long did he live ? 

2. What was his father's occupation? 

3. 'What do you find in the things he did as a boy that 
helped to make him the kind of man he afterward became? 

4. What part did he take in the struggle for freedom ? 

5. What did he do to make freedom of real value to the 
colored men? 

6. Where is Hampton? Find it on the map. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Start a new page with General Armstrong's full name and the 
dates of his birth and death at the top. 

8. Write a short outline of his life, telling the important things he 
did after leaving his home in Honolulu. 

9. Find out all you can about Hampton Institute and the work 
that is done there, and write a short story about it. You can get 
the information needed at the public library, in the encyclopaedia, 
or by writing to Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va., and asking 
them to send you some information. There are two very interest- 
ing articles about Hampton in The Outlook for July, 1907, and TJie 
Review of Reviews for September, 1906. 

HOME WORK. 

10. Find out what you can do to help the work at Hampton and 
similar schools, and try to get others to help, too. 

11. Commit to memory The Battle Hymn of the Republic. 



36 Heroes of the Faith 

Lesson 8. JOHN HOWARD. The Champion of Prison 

Reform. 

Born Sept. 2, 1726; died Jan. 20, 1790. 
11 Who went about doing good." Acts 10:38. 

An Imprisonment that Bore Good Fruit. A little more than 
one hundred and fifty years ago, an English vessel sailing 
for Portugal was captured by a French privateer, England 
and France being then at war with each other. The pas- 
sengers were taken prisoners and carried to Brest and other 
places. They were treated very severely, and suffered greatly 
both from neglect and from cruelties practised upon them. 
Among their number was a young Englishman named John 
Howard, who was attempting to go to Lisbon to see if he 
could be of any service to the sufferers from the great earth- 
quake which had destroyed that city. The experiences 
which he had upon this trip made a deep impression upon 
his mind, and undoubtedly helped to prepare him for his life 
work, for years afterward he wrote of them at the very 
beginning of his great book upon The State of Prisons, a book 
which was destined to bring about many reforms in the 
treatment of prisoners. 

A Boy who was not Spoiled by Money. John Howard's 
father was a well-to-do merchant, an upholsterer, who died 
when John was sixteen years of age, leaving the boy practically 
his own master and the possessor of considerable wealth. 
For most boys, this is about the worst thing that can possibly 
happen, to have plenty of money and little restraint. But 
John had learned to control himself, so that he did not need 
watching, and he had also learned to estimate rightly the 
value of money as a means of doing good, so that he was not 
spoiled by his freedom or his wealth. His early education 
had not been very good, but he more than made up for its 
deficiencies at most points by his own habits of careful reading 
and observation, and by travel. 

A Humane Landlord. In 1758 Mr. Howard settled at 
Cardington, a little village near Bedford, where he had a 
considerable estate with many tenants. Both he and his 
wife looked upon this as an opportunity for doing good. 
Instead of trying to see how much money they could squeeze 
out of their tenants by charging high rents for miserable 
hovels, they were constantly trying to see what they could 



John Howard — Lesson Eight 



37 



do to make their condition better. They had what the)' 
called their " charity purse," into which went all the money 
they could spare for benevolent objects. On one occasion, 
when Mr. Howard was figuring up his accounts for the year, 
he found a surplus, and proposed that they should spend it 
on a trip to London. But Mrs. Howard suggested that this 
sum would be just enough to build a nice little home for one 
of their needy tenants, and to this purpose it went. As a 
result of their work, " Cardington, which seemed at one time 
to contain the abodes of poverty and wretchedness, became 
one of the neatest villages in the kingdom." 

A Sheriff who Tried to Help. In 1773, a short time before 
our country became independent, Mr. Howard was appointed 
High Sheriff of the county of Bed- 
ford. He accepted this office with 
the same deep sense of responsi- 
bility that he felt toward all his 
work. He was brought into very 
close contact with the prisons and 
prisoners, and saw so much of 
misery and suffering that seemed 
to him unnecessary that it moved 
him to pity and efforts for improve- 
ment. In those days it was the 
common custom for jailers to get 
their pay from fees paid by the 
prisoners. It was also lawful for a 
man to be imprisoned for debt. John Howard. 

Dr. Howard found men who had been acquitted of the charge 
on which they were arrested, or who had been ordered dis- 
charged by the courts, still held prisoners until they should 
pay the jailer's fees. He at once made application for a 
regular salary to be paid to the jailers, and the abolishment 
of this fee system. He was asked to name any other place 
where this was done, and immediately started out to visit 
other parts of Great Britain to find the precedent, or example, 
that he desired. 

The Sorrows of the Prison House. Howard not only failed 
to find such precedent, but he found so many terrible things 
in the prevailing treatment of prisoners at that time that his 
heart was stirred to indignant pity, and he determined to 
devote his life, or so much of it as might be needful, to the 




38 Heroes of the Faith 

work of reforming prison conditions. He found that prisoners 
were treated with the rankest injustice in being held captive 
long after they should have been discharged; he found con- 
ditions that undermined health and sent the prisoner out an 
invalid for life, if indeed he escaped alive at all ; he found con- 
ditions that, instead of reforming criminals, made them worse 
than they had been. He traveled extensively not only in 
his own country, but all through Europe as well, paying his 
own expenses, and often undergoing great personal danger 
and hardship. That such cruelty and injustice seem almost 
incredible to-day is a testimony to the fact that the world 
is growing better. In England he found men, and women 
too, confined to underground dungeons, and debtors chained 
by the leg to the prison wall, selling articles to passers-by in 
order to pay off their debt and their fees ; he found one fright- 
ful cell, seventeen feet long, eight feet wide, and five and a 
half feet high, entirely dark, and with no air except what 
could come in through an opening in the door five by seven 
inches. The room was intolerably filthy and unwholesome, 
and yet three persons had been shut up there for two months. 
They could not stand upright, and had to take turns crouching 
at the door to get a few breaths of air through the tiny open- 
ing, in order that they might not suffocate entirely. In many 
places the unhealthful conditions gave rise to a frightful 
disease called jail fever, of which hundreds of poor wretches 
died. Howard himself ran great risk of catching this fever 
as he went ~>n his tours of investigation, but he never turned 
aside on that account, for he knew that the only hope of 
reform lay in telling people the exact conditions that existed. 

In most countries on the continent of Europe he found 
some things better, but he also found many terrible practices, 
such as torturing prisoners to make them confess, loading 
them down with heavy chains, and inflicting cruel punish- 
ments like that of the knout in Russia. With infinite patience 
and persistence he kept at his self-appointed task, until 
he had gathered a mass of evidence of the inhumanity of 
prison customs in the civilized world that fairly staggered 
people when he published it in his books. 

There were some punishments which had a touch of humor 
in them, as, for instance, the punishment meted out in Vienna 
to bakers who sold short weight. These were tied in their 
own baskets and thoroughly ducked at the end of a long pole 



John Howard — Lesson Eight 



39 



in the waters of the Danube. In Holland he found places 
where convicts were* put at useful employment, and this 
rejoiced him greatly. 

Reforms Effected. As a result of Howard's labors and his 
descriptions of what he had found, a number of reforms were 
made, and the conditions of the English prisons very much 
improved. Many of those on the Continent were also im- 
proved because of the frank words which Howard spoke to 
officials and even to kings as he met them on his travels. 
In England, Howard was called before Parliament and 
publicly thanked for his services. 

Another Labor of Love. During his travels, Mr. Howard 
had come into contact with hospitals as well as prisons, and 
found conditions there not very much better. Nothing was 
known at that time of the modern methods of treating disease, 
or of scientific surgery with its antiseptics. But conditions 
were not even as good as the knowledge of the time might have 
made them, and Howard saw another opportunity to be of 
service to mankind. And so off he went on another tour of 
the Continent, trying to find out just what conditions were 
and how they might be improved. He was especially in- 
terested in the lazarettos, or hospitals for contagious and 
infectious diseases. In this he ran fearful risks of being 
stricken with the plague, but he tried to take all possible 
precautions, and went ahead. Once more, by making the 
evils known he led to reforms which doubtless saved thou- 
sands of lives. 

Secrets of Success. There are certain things which account 
for the success of Howard's work. First, his great earnestness 
and devotion. He felt that it was his mission in life to help 
his fellow men,, and he never shrank from any opportunity 
to do this. Secondly, his personal influence. He was so 
earnest and so evidently actuated by the noblest motives 
that men everywhere respected and trusted him. He got 
information that many could not have obtained. In one 
place he found that the convicts in a prison, two hundred 
in number, had mutinied and killed two keepers, and the 
remaining keepers were afraid to go near the jail. Howard 
went in alone and quieted the rioters. I low, no one ever knew, 
for he was too modest to talk about it. Thirdly, his accuracy 
in observation and description of details. He was so careful, 



40 Heroes of the Faith 

when he went to a prison, to see things for himself, measuring 
the size of windows and rooms, counting the number of steps 
down into a cell, etc., that when he published his books, his 
account convinced his readers. 

A Martyr to the Service of his Fellow Men. Howard's 
journeys took him, for the second time, to Russia in 1789 
and 1790, to continue his unwearying efforts to learn what- 
ever he might turn to the advantage of the unfortunate and 
suffering. He had some skill in medicine, and in the little 
village of Cherson, about one hundred miles east of Odessa 
on the Black Sea, he was asked to attend a young lady who 
had been stricken with fever. He was not strong, and the 
exposure was too much for him. He was taken down with 
the disease himself, and died Jan. 20, 1790. A monument 
was erected to his memory in St. Paul's cathedral, but a still 
better memorial is found in the associations organized for the 
relief of prisoners, that are named after him. Few men have 
more unselfishly devoted their money and their lives to the 
service of their fellow men than John Howard. The thought 
of his life may remind us of the poem by Leigh Hunt about 
the good sheik, Abou Ben Adhem. 

" Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase !) 
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, 
And saw within the moonlight in his room, 
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, 
An angel writing in a book of gold. 
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, 
And to the presence in the room he said, 
1 What writest thou?' The vision raised its head, 
And with a look made all of sweet accord, 
Answered, ' The names of those who love the Lord.' 
' And is mine one?' said Abou. ' Nay, not so,' 
Replied the angel. Abou spake more low, 
But cheerly still; and said, ' I pray thee, then, 
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.' 

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night 

It came again with a great wakening light 

And showed the names whom love of God had blessed, 

And lo ! Ben Adhem' s name led alj the rest." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story, and then answer the following questions. 

2. What experience first helped to give Howard his sym- 
pathy with prisoners ? 



John Howard — Lesson Eight 41 

3. What principle guided him in the use that he made of his 
time and money? 

4. How did he think a landlord should treat his tenants, 
especially if they were poor? 

5. What opportunities came to him when he was elected 
sheriff ? 

6. How did he think people ought to feel toward prisoners, 
and how treat them ? 

7. What traits of character or habits contributed most 
toward the success of his work? 

8. In what respect did John Howard exemplify the spirit 
and mission of Christ? (Lu. 4: 16-21 ; comp. Is. 61 : 1.) 

9. What is being done, in the spirit of John Howard to-day, 
to make the conditions of prison life better and to help pris- 
oners become better men after they are discharged? Find 
the answer to this question by looking up the work of some 
of the prison associations, such as the Central Howard 
Association, in Chicago ; the New York Prison Association, 
or the Prison Department of the Volunteers of America, 
in New York City ; the Massachusetts Prison Association, in 
Boston, the Canadian Prison Association, in Toronto. There 
are about thirty such associations in America, and if you write 
to any one of them for information, or one of their reports, 
you will find out what they are doing and what people can do 
to help. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

10. Write a short story of the life of John Howard, telling the most 
interesting and important things that he did. 

11. Write down some of the things that are being done for prisoners 
to-day, both to make their imprisonment more humane and to help 
them to a better life. 

12. Look up the following passages and select the one you think 
most appropriate for a motto with which to close your story of Howard. 
Is. 42:1,7; Mt. 25:35, 36,40; Ps. 79:11; Prov. 22:29; 1 Jo. 3:23. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory the poem, Abou Ben Adhem, 



42 Heroes of the Faith 

Lesson 9. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. A Pioneer in 
the Red Cross Movement. 

Born May 12, 1820; died August 13, 1910. 
u Blessed are the merciful." Mt. 5: 7. 

Saving a Dog. A little girl was riding one day, with a 

gentleman, over the downs of Hampshire, in the south of 
England, when they noticed a shepherd, vainly trying to 
collect his sheep which had become badly scattered. 

" Where is your dog, Roger?" asked the gentleman, as he 
watched the old man's efforts. 

" The boys have been throwing stones at him," replied 
Roger. " They have broken his leg, poor beast, and he'll 
never be able to do anything more. I shall have to put him 
out of his misery." 

" Oh, is Cap's leg broken?" cried the little girl. " Cannot 
we do something for him? Where is he?" and she put her 
pony to the gallop toward the old shed where the faithf 1 
shepherd dog lay suffering. 

The leg proved not to be broken, but only badly bruised, 
and the application of hot bandages made such improvement 
that old Roger was both amazed and rejoiced when he came 
home in the evening, and Cap was soon trotting about at his 
work of tending the sheep. 

The Child Nurse. This story has been told many times, for 
the little girl whose heart was moved with pity at the suffering 
of the shepherd dog became one of the most famous women 
in England, and indeed in the whole world, and that which 
made her famous was her tender sympathy for all who were 
in distress, and the cool head and splendid mind which told 
her what most needed to be done. Even as a little child in her 
play she showed the traits that were to be so useful in later 
life. Her dolls were always getting sick and having to be 
nursed back to health. She was surgeon for all her sister's 
dolls when arms or legs or even more important members 
became broken. As soon as she was old enough to go about 
it was her greatest delight to visit the homes of the poor and 
the sick of the village, and carry them the little delicacies, 
or clothing or other gifts which her mother, who was quite 
as tender-hearted as she, was accustomed to send. Both she 
and her sister had many pets, but it was noticeable that 
Florence paid most attention to the old and infirm, that, 



Florence Nightingale — Lesson Nine 43 

because of their weakness, were little noticed by the farm 
hands. Seldom did she miss a morning without a visit to 
Peggy, the old gray pony, with an apple or lump of sugar 
in her pocket for Peggy to nose out. She and the birds 
and squirrels were boon companions, and every mother bird 
seemed to know that the secret of her nest and her little ones 
was safe with Miss Florence. 

A Young Lady of Purpose. Florence Nightingale grew 
to young womanhood under most favorable surroundings. 
She was well taught, under firm but kindly discipline, and 
became an exceptionally accomplished young lady. She 
had wealth, position in society, and abundant opportunities 
for enjoyment in a life of ease and idle pleasure. But such 
a life had no attraction for her. Gentle, refined, and modest 
as she was, she had a strong will and a determination to be 
of use in the world. Her early love of playing nurse, and the 
equal pleasure she took in her friendly visits among the poor 
and the suffering after she had grown to young womanhood, 
led her to turn her attention to nursing as a profession. 

A Life Work that Required Courage. In these days, when 
the trained nurse has such an honored place in our life, we 
can scarcely imagine what it meant for a young lady of culture 
and refinement to choose such a work in England when 
Florence Nightingale was young. Professional nurses were 
then found usually among the lower grades of women. They 
were, for the most part, ignorant, untrained, unreliable and 
even immoral. Drunkenness was common among them, and 
they were anything but respected. But in all this Miss 
Nightingale saw the greater need for young women of character 
and refinement to give themselves to the ministry of healing 
and comfort. And so, in spite of the wonderment and criti- 
cisms of many of her acquaintances, she entered the Deaconess 
Hospital at Kaiserwerth, on the Rhine, to receive her training 
as a nurse. It is good to know that from her parents she had 
only sympathy and hearty support. She did her work well, 
and after graduating went first to her home, and later to 
London, where she became interested in work for street boys, 
and soon took charge of a Home for Sick Governesses. Here 
she had an opportunity to show not only the kindness oi heart 
for which she was already known, but also the ability to 
manage things that was her other strong characteristic. 



44 Heroes of the Faith 

A National Crisis. In the year 1854, war broke out between 
England and Russia, the war which is known in history as 
the Crimean War. France and Turkey were allies with 
England, and the conflict was long and bloody. Very early 
in the war the allied forces won a great victory at Alma, 
and the nation rejoiced. But soon after came sad news. 
The gallant men who had fought so bravely and had been 
wounded in the battle were in the deepest distress and misery. 
Xo proper provisions had been made for taking care of the 
sick and wounded ; there were no trained nurses, and stores 
of medicine and supplies were in confusion; wounded men 
were brought in from the front and left to suffer and to die 
simply because there was no one to care for them properly. 
Mr. William Howard Russell, the war correspondent of The 
London Times, wrote: "Are there no devoted women 
amongst us, able and willing to go forth to minister to the 
sick and suffering soldiers of the East in the hospitals at 
Scutari? Are none of the daughters of England, at this 
extreme hour of need, ready for such a work of mercy?" 

The Angel of the Battlefield. There was one, and she 
was fitted for the task. There were plenty of tender-hearted, 
loyal women, ready and willing to go, but there was just one 
who had the skill, the practical knowledge of affairs, and the 
administrative ability which was needed to bring order out 
of chaos and organize an efficient working force of nurses. 
That one was Florence Nightingale. 
The nation called her, and she responded 
with loyal willingness. Within a week's 
time she had a band of thirty-eight nurses 
ready to start. They left at night to 
avoid public notice, for Miss Nightingale's 
modesty always made her shrink from 
open praise, and landed at Scutari the 
day before another great battle. There 
is not space to tell of all the details of 
\ the tremendous task that confronted the 
' - Lady-in-Chief , as she was called. Imagine 
' a great barracks building turned into a 

Florence Nightingale. hospital) ^th long TOWS of sick and 

wounded men, packed closely together, even lying on the 
floor in the passageways, without clean linen, without atten- 





Florence Nightingale — Lesson Nine 45 

tion, men with their clothing stiff and hard from their own 
blood, and everywhere filth, rats and other vermin. Imagine 
a tender-hearted, refined woman looking at all this, knowing 
that it was her task to bring order out of this confusion, and 
knowing too that the lives of many of these brave fellows 
would depend upon how well she did her task. Many a 
strong man would have trembled before such responsibility, 
but Florence Nightingale simply went to work. In a short 
time men found themselves lying upon beds that were clean 
and comfortable, eating food that was nourishing and well- 
cooked; gentle hands attended to bodily needs, and tender 
sympathy brought comfort to hearts that were ready to de- 
spair. As Francis Bennoch has written: 






" Neglected, dying in despair, 

They lay till woman came, 
To soothe them with her gentle care, 

And feed life's flickering flame. 
When wounded sore, on fever's rack, 

Or cast away as slain, 
She called their fluttering spirits back, 

And gave them strength again." 



The soldiers came to look upon Florence Nightingale with 
something like worship in their hearts. No case was so hope- 
less but she would try to save. No wounds were too horrible 
for her to cleanse and bind up. 

The Lady with the Lamp. Day after day she worked in a 
way that would have prostrated many a more robust person, 
and then at night, with a lamp shaded by her hand lest the 
light disturb the sufferers, she would make the rounds of the 
hospital to see that all was right, or to render any service 
that might be needed. And so they came to call her " The 
Lady with the Lamp," and many a rough soldier turned to 
kiss her shadow as it passed. Our own Longfellow wrote 
in her honor a beautiful poem, Santa Filomena, in which he 
refers to this. When the last hour came, as it did for many 
a poor fellow, the Lady with the Lamp was at his bedside 
to speak words of cheer and of the love of God and the hope 
of heaven. No wonder they worshiped their Lady-in-Chief. 
Meanwhile she was also winning the confidence and respect 
of officers and those in authority at home and on the battle- 
field. Her unerring wisdom and superior skill made even 
old campaigners look on with amazement. 



46 Heroes of the Faith 

Almost a Martyr. After several months of such exhausting 
labor, Miss Nightingale was herself stricken with fever, and 
had need of the same loving care she had given to others. 
The news of her illness was received with consternation, 
and men in the hospital at Scutari, who had looked unmoved 
upon death in its most terrible forms, turned their faces, to 
the wall and cried like children. But her life was spared, 
and she was urged to go home for rest. This she refused to do. 
She would not leave her post as long as there were so many 
to be cared for and so much to be done. Even when the war 
was over, and all England was rejoicing over the victories, 
she refused to leave her post. The battles were over, but 
there were hundreds of wounded and sick who still had to be 
cared for. 

A Nation's Heroine. At last the time came when she felt 
that she could return. The British Government offered to 
send a warship to bring her back, but she declined the offer 
and came home in the ordinary way, slipping quietly into 
England and into her old home before any one knew she had 
returned. There is not space to tell of all the honors that 
were bestowed upon her, but that is just as her modest, 
womanly heart would have it. The testimonial that pleased 
her most was a great subscription which was raised to found 
a Training Home for Nurses, which had been one of her 
fondest desires. 

Fruits of her Work. The strain of the heavy labors in 
Crimea left Miss Nightingale an invalid, but it did not prevent 
her from working. She has gone steadily onward promoting 
by her counsel and advice one good work after another. She 
has lived to see the profession of nursing an honored one in 
England, with adequate provision for training. She has 
inspired many a young woman to a life of noble service and 
self-denial who might otherwise have been an idler. Her 
work in Crimea was the beginning of new and better methods 
of caring for soldiers. Her influence has led to the organiza- 
tion of numerous societies, like the Red Cross, that aim to 
reduce the suffering and mortality from wounds and disease. 
The losses of Japan from these causes during her late war 
with Russia were lessened in an unparalleled degree because 
of what the Japanese sanitary commission learned directly 
or indirectly from Florence Nightingale. 



Florence Nightingale — Lesson Nine 47 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read carefully the story and find out anything else you 
can about Miss Nightingale's home life and work. 

2. In what ways did she show in childhood the traits that 
made her famous later? 

3. What did she think was needed in order to make life 
worth while? 

4. Why did it take special courage to undertake the life 
work that she chose ? 

5. What national emergency called her to her greatest 
work? 

6. What kind of task did she find at Scutari, and how did 
she perform it? 

7. What different kinds of service do trained nurses render 
to-day? Where do they get their training? What associa- 
tions of nurses are there in your town or city, and what is 
their purpose ? (This information can be obtained partly from 
some recent encyclopedia under "Nurses" or "Nursing"; 
or by inquiry of the charity organization of any large city 
or town.) 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Write " Florence Nightingale " with the date of her birth, at the 
top of a new page in your note-book. For a picture of her, obtain, if 
possible, Brown 1237, Perry 151. 

9. Write a short account of what most interests you in her early 
life. 

10. Write a short story of her work during the Crimean War. Give 
the different names that were applied to her, and tell why she was 
called by them. 

11. Make a list of the results that have come from the work of 
Florence Nightingale for which we have reason to be thankful to-day. 

12. Read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lu. 10:25-37), and 
write in your note-book some points wherein Florence Nightingale re- 
sembled him. 

13. Write a short account of what is being done for the poor or suf- 
fering by trained nurses, in your town or neighborhood. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Memorize Mt. 25:31-40, a passage which has in it the spirit that 
inspires Miss Nightingale's life. 



48 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 10. GUIDO FRIDOLIN VERBECK. A Citizen of no 
Country but Honored by Three. 

Born Jan. 23, 1830; died Mar. 10, 1898. 

" By faith . . . , when he was called, [he] obeyed to go out unto 
a place which he was to receive for an inheritance." Heb. 11:8. 

A Man without a Country. Did you ever read The Man 
without a Country, by Edward Everett Hale? That is the 
story of a man who, as punishment for unpatriotic wrong- 
doing, was deprived of his citizenship and obliged to forfeit 

the privilege of living in or even hear- 
ing of his native land. This is the 
story of a man who voluntarily gave 
up his native land, and became 
literally a citizen of no country, in 
order that he might give himself to 
heroic, unselfish service to his fellow 
men. It is a story of a great man 
who did great things and won a rich 
reward. 

A Beautiful Home. The story be- 
gins in Holland, that queer little 
land where canals run everywhere, 
where boats are as plentiful as wag- 
ons, where every one learns to skate, 
and where life is a constant struggle with the ocean. It is a 
land with a stirring history, full of incidents in which sheer 
pluck and determination are pitted against superior force 
and numbers, and pluck wins. Here Guido Verbeck was 
born in 1830, the son of Carl Verbeek (for that is the true 
spelling of the name) and his wife Anna. He grew up in a 
lovely home called The Koppel, surrounded by elms and pear 
trees and walnuts and a splendid flower and vegetable garden. 
There was a great hay loft in the stable ; there were cows and 
geese, ducks, chickens, and a gorgeous peacock. For pets 
Guido had rabbits, two colts, Hector and Sylvan, and a big 
watchdog, Castor, who was as loyal to his master as every 
true boy's dog should be. The children (there were eight 
of them,) had their swing out under a giant walnut tree, 
went rowing in a big boat large enough for all, and had all 
kinds of happy times to which they looked back in after 
years with keen enjoyment. 




Guido Fridolin Verbeck. 



Guido Fridolin Verbeck — Lesson Ten 49 

Nor was life without its excitement, even in that peaceful 
home. In that land, ditches take the place of fences, and 
when baby Guido was but two years old he barely escaped 
ending his career by falling into one of these ditches from the 
narrow footbridge. Fortunately for the world, he was 
dragged out, a much soused and half frozen youngster, and 
saved for the work he was to do. 

Preparing for his Work. Guido went to school at the 
Moravian Institute, and there did good work in all his studies, 
but especially in the languages, Dutch, French, and German, 
while English he picked up from the English pupils who were 
boarding at the school. It is very hard for a Dutch boy to 
get the soft th sound in English, and Guido used to practice 
on this by saying over and over again our old friend, " The- 
ophilus Thistle thrust three thousand thistles into the thick 
of his thumb." Then, too, there were the beautiful services 
at the Moravian church at Easter and at Christmas time, 
when the young hearts of the children were filled not only 
with the holiday gladness, but also with love for the Christ 
who brought the spirit of truest love into the world. 

Guido was born at a time when the interest in mechanical 
pursuits was rapidly increasing, and it was quite natural that 
he should have chosen to be a civil engineer, and for this he 
was fitted at the institute in Utrecht. Like many another 
young European, he looked upon America as the land of 
promise for a successful career, and so to Amer.ca he came. 
From New York he started for Tanktown, near Green Bay, 
Wisconsin, to work in a factory owned by another Hollander. 
From Buffalo he took a steamer for Green Bay, but it got no 
farther than Cleveland. It was caught in a fierce storm on 
Lake Erie, lost smoke-stack and rudder, and drifted hope- 
lessly for days with every prospect of never reaching land 
again. But God had something else in store for Verbeck 
than being drowned in Lake Erie. The steamer was finally 
rescued by a government boat, towed into the harbor of 
Cleveland, and from there the young man proceeded by 
another steamer, then by rail, and finally by wagon and 
sleigh over the worst possible roads, to his destination. But 
he was not contented in Tanktown for long, nor indeed with 
the profession of engineering. He went back to New York, 
thru out West to Arkansas, but was still restless, until finally 
he became convinced that he ought to devote his life to mis- 



50 Heroes of the Faith 

sionary work. His mind thus made up, he entered the 
theological seminary at Auburn, and began the last stages 
of his preparation for his true life work. 

The Work being Prepared for the Worker. Far away 
across the sea lies the Island Empire of Japan, a truly wonder- 
ful country, with its miniature trees, and miniature people 
with giant spirits. We know Japan now as the country of 
which the whole world is talking, a people that has advanced 
almost at a bound to a place among the great nations of the 
earth. But when Guido Verbeck was born the world knew 
little about Japan, and Japan knew even less about the rest 
of the world. The Japanese were suspicious of foreigners, 
and would not permit them to enter the country, nor were 
their own people allowed to go out. There was one little 
island, called Deshima, in the harbor in front of Nagasaki, 
where a few Hollanders were allowed to live and trade. And 
so a little of the light of civilization was brought to their 
doors. 

During the Crimean War, English ships came to the harbor 
of Nagasaki to get supplies, and the Prince of Hizen, as that 
part of Japan was called, fearing lest some of the foreigners 
should come in, or some of his own people should get out to 
the English ships, appointed one of his officers, Murata, to 
see that this did not happen. Murata set guards on shore 
and in a great circle of boats about the harbor, and he himself 
used to go out frequently to see that everything was being 
well done. While he faithfully obeyed the orders of his prince, 
Murata was himself brought into more or less contact with 
the Dutch, and was too intelligent not to see that they knew 
many things worth knowing. One day he found floating 
on the water a book, the like of which he had never seen 
before. He could not read Dutch, but he got an interpreter 
to read it to him, and found that it told about the Creator 
of the world, and about Jesus, who taught the love of God 
for men. And thus did the truth find a loophole even in 
Japan's wall of defense, and begin to get into the Island 
Empire. 

The Opening of Japan, and the Coming of the First Mis- 
sionaries. In 1854, Commodore Perry and his famous fleet 
went to Japan, and treaties were arranged by which the 
Americans were permitted to land and trade. Soon after, 



Guido Fridolin Verbeck — Lesson Ten 51 

came the call for missionaries. It is said that one of the 
princes of Japan remarked, when talking about the treaty, 
that he would have no objection to the admission of the 
foreigners if only opium and Christianity might be kept out. 
This showed clearly that the Japanese did not understand 
what Christianity really was, and that missionaries were 
needed to teach them. So the call was sent, and on Saturday 
morning, the seventh of May, 1859, the good ship Surprise 
sailed from New York harbor with the first three missionaries 
from America to Japan on board. They were Guido Verbeck, 
Rev. S. R. Brown, and Dr. D. B. Simmons, with their wives. 
It took longer to cross the ocean than it does now, with our 
swift steamers. The party reached Hongkong on the 25th 
of August, and it was November 7th before Verbeck reached 
Nagasaki. What was before him there we shall see. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read carefully the story of Verbeck's boyhood and 
youth. What incidents are there here that remind you of 
any other characters you have studied about in this course ? 

2. What trait of character did he show in his school life 
that helped to fit him for the patient work of later years ? 

3. Look up the following named places in your atlas, and 
get an idea of the distance that Verbeck had to go before he 
found his true life work: Holland, or The Netherlands, where 
he was born ; New York ; Green Bay, Wisconsin ; Helena, 
Arkansas ; and Nagasaki, Japan. Remember that he went 
from New York around the Cape of Good Hope to reach 
Japan. 

4. Read what is said about Japan and the opening up of 
that country. Find out anything else you can about the 
country, and about Commodore Perry's expedition. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Start a new page for Verbeck. Write his full name at the top, 
with the dates of his birth and death. Leave a space for a motto to 
be selected after you have finished the study about him. 

0. Write a brief story of Verbeck's boyhood and schooldays and of 
the various things that entered into his preparation for his work. 

7. In another paragraph tell what you have learned from the story or 
elsewhere about Japan, and the way in which it was opened up for 
missionary work. 



52 



Heroes of the Faith 



8. Find a map of Japan that you can paste into your note-book, if 
possible, or sketch an outline map on which } r ou can locate the places 
where Yerbeck worked. 

9. Read Gen. 12 : 1-8, and write in your note-book some particulars 
in which Verbeck's experiences were similar to Abraham's. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory Isaiah 6:8. 



^ttHbff4X:$ 



Lesson 11. GUIDO FRIDOLIN VERBECK. A Pioneer in 

the New Civilization of Japan. 

" He that goeth forth . . . , bearing seed for sowing, 
Shall doubtless come again with jov, bringing his sheaves with him." 
Ps. 126:6. i 
" So the man without a nation helped to found a nation." 

Perilous Times in a New Country. It was no easy task that 
the first missionaries to Japan had before them. While 
treaties had been made which permitted foreigners to enter 

the country, the Japanese 
people were still suspicious 
of them, and there were 
mam' who openly opposed 
the action of their own 
government in admitting 
the white men. Christian- 
ity was forbidden, and all 
over the land were little 
s i g n-bo a r d s announcing 
that fact, and offering re- 
wards for information that 
would lead to the discoverv 
and punishment of Japan- 
ese who had become Chris- 
t i an s . Five hundred 
pieces of silver were offered 
to any one who would inform concerning his father, three hun- 
dred "to the informer on his brother, and so on. 

One day, when Dr. Yerbeck tried to talk about Christianity 
to a Japanese, the man's only response was to put his hand 
edgewavs to his own throat. Buddhism was the religion of 












A Decree against Christianity. 

This is one of the decrees of the government, and was 
■written in the Japanese ideograph on a wooden board. 
It reads as follows: 

ORDER 

Hitherto the Christian Religion has been forbidden, 
and the order must be strictly kept! 

The corrupt reli?ion is strictly forbidden!! 

Done in the 3d month of the 4th [year] of Kvo (March, 
1868 . 

By order of the Inugami Prefecture. 



Guido Fridolin Verbeck — Lesson Eleven 53 

the country, and the Buddhist priests were very jealous of any 
influence that would lessen their power. They had a wonderful 
secret organization, something like that of the Inquisition in 
Spain. They were very active in tracking down Christians, 
and used spies, treachery, imprisonment, and torture in their 
endeavor to stamp out this new religion, of which they were 
especially afraid. 

Patience and Perseverance. Verbeck saw that he could not 
openly preach the Gospel and make converts, so he did what 
he could. In spite of all the opposition to the Christian 
religion, there was a growing hunger for knowledge of the 
world and of the English language. The government needed 
men who should be able to act as interpreters in their relations 
with the English and Americans, and schools began to be 
founded for training these men. Verbeck was asked to teach, 
and accepted the opportunity, using the New Testament 
and the Constitution of the United States as text-books. 
In this way he was teaching these Japanese young men what 
Christianity and American institutions really meant, and, 
what was even better, he was showing them by his own life 
what a true Christian man was like. He was kind, generous, 
unselfish, and never weary of helping them in every way he 
possibly could. As they came to know him better, they 
also came to respect and love him. He won their confidence 
and trust absolutely. He would always tell them the truth 
about themselves, but so kindly and tactfully as not to give 
offense. He would help them to make some improvement 
in their way of doing things, and then generously give them 
all the credit. This was of especial importance among a 
people so sensitive and proud as the Japanese. 

Revolutions and Civil War. During the first part of 
Verbeck's work in Japan there was constant unrest and con- 
flict in the land. There was no strong central government, 
the country being divided into numerous principalities, each 
with its daimio as ruler. These daimios acknowledged the 
emperor as their overlord, but the man who had the real 
power was the shogun, or military commander-in-chief. 
Some of these clansmen were very hostile to the admission 
of foreigners, and kept constantly stirring up strife There 
were repeated revolts and conflicts, involving various pans 
of the country, and at one time Dr. Verbeck himself was 



54 Heroes of the Faith 

obliged to leave Nagasaki and take refuge on the island of 
Deshima for safety. 

Conditions at last became so bad that no one's life was 
really safe, and in 1864 the combined fleets of Great Britain, 
France, Holland, and the United States appeared before 
Shimonoseki, to demand that the daimio of Choshiu, the clan 
that was making the most trouble at that time, cease his 
warfare and respect the treaties that had been made. Per- 
suasion having failed, the ships opened fire, and the bom- 
bardment that followed soon convinced the Japanese that 
these " barbarians " knew how to enforce their messages, 
and that it was futile to oppose them. This settled the open 
door question for Japan. It was a severe lesson, but in the 
end it was the greatest service that could have been rendered 
the country. 

A New Impetus to Learning. New schools were now opened 
for training interpreters, and Dr. Verbeck was appointed as 
principal of the government school at Nagasaki. In his classes 
he had many of those who were later to hold positions of 
power and influence in the empire. Soon pupils from these 
schools began to go to America for higher education, and 
they came back to their own land full of respect for the things 
that they had seen and learned here. From all over the 
country came young men eager for knowledge, and especially 
eager to be in the classes of the man whose name seemed to 
have become magnetic. Many of them actually thought 
that the surest way to influence and power was to be taught 
by Verbeck. Perhaps they were right. 

The Conversion of Murata. In 1866 something happened 
that brought joy to the heart of Dr. Verbeck. Murata, the 
officer who, twelve years before, had been set to guard the 
harbor of Nagasaki against the foreigners, and had picked up 
the Dutch Bible floating on the water, came to Dr. Verbeck 
to be taught more about Christianity. This brave old sol- 
dier was full of eagerness to know more of Jesus Christ, for 
whom he had come to feel the greatest of admiration. As 
he listened, his admiration grew into unswerving allegiance, 
and he and his brother were baptized, knowing full well that 
death would be their penalty if they were discovered. 

A Temporary Setback. In the year 1868 another revolu- 
tion occurred, which resulted in restoring the mikado, or 



Guido Fridolin Verbeck — Lesson Eleven 55 

emperor, to full power, and driving out the shogun, who had 
been the real ruler. It was also the intent of those who had 
restored him to power that the foreigners should be expelled. 
This the new government found it rather difficult to do, so 
they tried to satisfy the people by more strict measures 
against the Christians. New notices were put up which 
stated that " The Evil Sect called Christian is strictly pro- 
hibited." About four thousand Japanese Christians were 
taken from their homes, dressed in the red suits used to 
designate criminals, and sent out into the provinces to work 
as laborers. They were given three years in which to repent, 
and if they did not give up their faith at the expiration of 
that time they were to be beheaded. All this was a great 
trial to Guido Verbeck, but he kept on working, quietly 
and patiently, and bided his time. 

A New Opportunity at Tokio. Verbeck's time was to come. 
The new government established at Tokio was gathering 
about itself men with their faces toward the future, eager to 
make their nation great and worthy of a place among the 
other nations of the earth. Many of these men had been 
pupils under Verbeck, and now they turned to him for advice. 
He was called to Tokio to become head of the Imperial 
University there, and there he was constantly being con- 
sulted on the most important affairs of state. He showed 
himself a true diplomat, a statesman of the finest type. With 
his heart set on just one thing, that of making Japan a 
Christian nation, he counseled and advised with consummate 
tact and skill, and the Japanese found his counsel sound. 
In 1871 the Japanese government sent a great embassy of 
distinguished men to America and Europe, to study condi- 
tions there and bring back report. Verbeck himself was the 
chief originator of this embassy, though he never put himself 
to the front in the matter, and he had great hopes as to its 
outcome. Nor was he disappointed. 

The Ban on Christianity Removed. When this embassy 
returned, they brought a careful report which showed that 
Christianity was the root of the best things in the civilization 
they had found. Soon after this, the sign-boards prohibiting 
Christianity disappeared from the market-places o\ Japan, 
and Verbeck and the other missionaries found themselves 
able to preach openly the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 



56 Heroes of the Faith 

Honored by the People of his Adoption. The later years of 
Verbeck's life brought rich rewards for all his labors. He was 
appointed Adviser to the Senate. The emperor conferred 
upon him an honorary decoration of " The Order of the 
Rising Sun." When Verbeck began to travel more freely 
through the country on his missionary tours, he found need 
of having a passport from his own country that should in- 
dicate that he was under the protection of some government. 
But his long absence from Holland had forfeited his citizen- 
ship there, and he had lived in the United States too short a 
time to complete his naturalization as a citizen of this country. 
Then the Japanese Emperor granted him not only a passport, 
but the right to travel freely throughout the empire, and to 
reside where he pleased, virtually adopting him as a citizen 
of that country, an honor never before granted to a foreigner. 
But the reward that meant most to Verbeck was that Japan, 
under the leadership of the men whom he had taught, was 
rapidly becoming more enlightened and more open to Christian 
teaching. 

When he died, his funeral was attended by large numbers 
of Japanese officials. The emperor sent a representative, and 
two companies of soldiers escorted the body to the grave. 
The city of Tokio set apart a lot for his burial place, and the 
Japanese people erected a handsome monument to his 
memory. But his greatest monument is a living one ; the 
greater Japan that now is, and the Christian Japan that is 
to be. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story carefully, and tell what things you find 
there that show Dr. Verbeck's courage, his patience, his 
unselfishness. 

2. When did Verbeck reach Japan (see last lesson) ? How 
long was it before he could openly do the thing he came to do — 
preach the Gospel? 

3. Where did he begin his work in Japan? Where did he 
end it? 

4. Find out what you can about the work of Christian 
missionaries in Japan to-day, especially those of your own 
church. You can get this information from some encyclo- 
pedias, under the sub-heading, " Religion," in the article on 
Japan, or from your church missionary papers, or by writing 
to the missionary board of your church. 



. 



Review of Lessons i-ii — Lesson Twelve 57 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Read over both of the stories about Verbeck, and mark on your 
map the places where he worked. 

6. Add to your paragraph about Japan and the way in which it was 
opened up to missionary work, any additional facts that you have now 
learned. 

7. Write another paragraph telling what Verbeck did for Japan. 

8. Write down the names of any places in Japan where your church 
has missions that were made possible by Verbeck 's work. If possible, 
give the names of the missionaries who are working there. 

SOMETHING TO DO. 

Find out what you or your class can do to help make Japan the 
kind of nation Verbeck wanted her to become. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory Prov. 22 :1, 29. 



Lesson 12. REVIEW OF LESSONS 1-11. 

We have now studied eight different characters, each 
of whom was a pioneer in some sense, either as an explorer 
in new country, or as one who struck out along new lines 
of activity, or along old lines in new ways. It will be well to 
look back over these studies and gather up some of their 
results. Read carefully the stories, and what you have 
written in your note-book about each character, then do the 
review work suggested, as far as possible from memory. 

1. Write " CHARACTERS STUDIED IN LESSONS 1- 
11 " at the head of a new page in your note-book. Then 
make a list of the characters, giving the full name, the time 
when each lived, the place where each worked, and that for 
which each is famous. For example: Abraham; about 18th 
century B.C. ; Palestine; founder of the Hebrew nation. 

2. Name the incidents, taken from the lives of any of these 
eight, which seem to you best to illustrate the following 
named traits of character: (i) Courage, (2) Persistence, (3) 
Patience, (4) Truthfulness, (5) Kindness, (6) Love \\n- fellow 
men, (7) any other trait that you have observed for yourself. 



58 Heroes of the Faith 

Notice that all these men and women worked and made 
sacrifices because they had a Christlike love for all the world, 
and His idea of the sacredness and beauty of human life. 

3. Write a short description of the character that you most 
admire, and give the reasons for your choice. 

4. Name any forms of practical Christian service now being 
carried on, that you have learned about in connection with 
these studies. 



SECOND QUARTER 



8 



Lesson 13. ELIJAH. Champion of Israel's Faith and 
Popular Liberties. 

1 Ki. chs. 17-19, 21. 9th century b. c. 
41 If Jehovah be God, follow him." 1 Ki. 18: 21. 

The King and the Prophet. Long years ago, and very far 
away across the sea, there lived a king by the name of Ahab. 
He ruled over the kingdom of Israel, in Palestine, and made 
it strong and prosperous. He seems to have been brave in 
battle, and to have managed the affairs of his kingdom with 
great wisdom, according to the world's way of looking at 
it. But he had some serious faults ; he valued power and 
material prosperity above loyalty to God, and he allowed 
himself to be led into acts of injustice and wickedness in order 
to gain his own selfish ends. And these things in time proved 
his ruin. 

In this same kingdom there lived another and quite different 
sort of man, named Elijah. He dwelt in the wilderness, and 
dressed in the rough garments of a shepherd, and it is very 
doubtful if, during the earlier years of his life, king Ahab 
even knew of Elijah's existence. The day came, however, 
when he knew more than he liked to of this sturdy prophet. 

The King Rebuked. King Ahab, in order to promote the 
prosperity of his kingdom, and increase her commerce and 
wealth, formed a number of alliances, or treaties, with foreign 
nations. One was with the Sidonians, through his marriage 
with Jezebel, the daughter of the Sidonian king. Such 
alliances w r ere all right in themselves, but in those countries 
there were thought to be many gods, or Baalim, each nation 
having its own god, or Baal, and when such alliances were 
made, the nation making the treaty usually recognized in 
some way the god of the other nation. Even the Hebrew 
prophets in those days did not realize that there was only 
one true God, Jehovah; but they taught thai the Hebrews, 
or Israelites, belonged to Jehovah, who had chosen them as 



60 



Heroes of the Faith 




Elijah. 

From the Copley Print of Sargent's " Frieze 
of the Prophets " m the Boston Public Library. 
(Copyright, 1898, by Curtis and Cameron.) 



His own people, and had saved them from the Egyptian 
bondage, and from many other dangers and distresses. They 

taught that because of this kind- 
ness the people of Israel had no 
right to worship any other god. 
Elijah believed this with all his 
heart, and was convinced that 
Ahab's alliances were wrong, as 
they led the people to worship 
strange gods. Believing this, 
his duty was clear. Though but 
a humble prophet, and knowing 
that Ahab might put him to 
death if he chose, Elijah sud- 
denly appeared before the king, 
and announced the punishment 
which he believed Jehovah would 
send upon the land for the sins 
of king Ahab : " As Jehovah, the 
God of Israel, liveth, there shall 
not be dew nor rain these 
years." Then Elijah disappeared, and through all the long 
drought and famine that followed, Ahab could not find him. 

A Contest for the Honor of Jehovah. The time came when 
Elijah returned and again met the king face to face. Ahab 
was angry, and cried out, " Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?" 
But Elijah replied, sternly, " I have not troubled Israel; 
but thou, in that thou hast forsaken the commandments of 
Jehovah." Then he hurled at the king this challenge: 
There was to be a great assembly on Carmel, and there would 
be four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and four hundred 
more prophets of the Asherah, or sacred trees, and all of 
these were under queen Jezebel's special protection. Elijah 
proposed that he, quite alone, should meet these men and 
make test of the relative strength of their gods. The day 
came, and great crowds of people were gathered. Elijah 
said to them, " How long will you go limping like a lame 
man between two opinions? If Jehovah be God, follow him ; 
but if Baal, then follow him." He then proposed that each 
side erect an altar, and prepare a sacrifice, and pray for fire. 
The god that answered by fire was to be recognized as God 
in Israel. All the people agreed to this. First, the Baal 



Lesson Thirteen — Elijah 



61 



prophets went to work. They built their altar, laid the 
sacrifice upon it, and began calling, "O Baal, hear us! 
O Baal, hear us!" There was no reply. They danced and 
cut themselves with their knives, trying to influence their 
god. Then Elijah began to make fun of them. " Call 
louder," he said. " He is a god; and he maybe thinking, or 
perhaps he has gone away, or he may be asleep, and must be 
awakened." And the Baal prophets called until they were 
hoarse, and jumped up and down till they were exhausted, 
and gashed their bodies until the blood streamed down upon 
the ground. 

At last Elijah took his turn. He repaired the altar of 
Jehovah that had been neglected and had fallen into ruin. 
He prepared the sacrifice upon it, and, in order to make the 
test more impressive, he ordered that the whole should be 
drenched with water until it was soaking wet, and the water 




Mount Carmel. 



Prom a photograph. 



filled the trench that was dug around the altar. Then, with 
quiet dignity, he approached the altar, and uttered this 
prayer : 

11 O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it 
be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy 
servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear 
me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, 
art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again." 

And with this, lightning fell from heaven upon the altar, 
and consumed the sacrifice, and dried up the water, and the 
people fell to the ground in awe and amazement, crying out, 
" Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God." Then, at Elijah's 



62 Heroes of the Faith 

command, all the prophets of Baal were slain by the people 
whom they had deceived. 

Elijah in Peril. Queen Jezebel was terribly angry when she 
heard what had happened, for the Baal religion was her 
religion, and she had been responsible for bringing many of 
these Baal prophets into the country. Elijah's deed was also 
a rebuke to her. She vowed to have his life, and Elijah fled. 
He hastened toward Mount Horeb, or Sinai, where God 
was thought to have His special dwelling-place, and there 
hid in a cave. While there, he had an experience in which 
God revealed more clearly to him that His kingdom is not 
to be established through force, but rather through quiet 
personal influence, and through obeying the voice of con- 
science. Elijah had done what he believed to be right, and 
God had honored his faith ; but he wished to teach the earnest 
prophet that there was a better way. You can read about 
this in 1 Ki. 19:9-12. And Elijah was soon to have the 
chance to teach this lesson to the king. 

An Unjust Deed. There lived in the kingdom a man by the 
name of Naboth, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel, which 
had come down to him from his ancestors. It happened to 
be near Ahab's palace, and Ahab wanted to buy it to add to 
his gardens. Naboth, however, declined the offer, as he did 
not wish to part with his family inheritance. Ahab went 
home very much out of sorts, and threw himself down on 
the bed like a spoiled child, and refused to eat. Soon Jezebel 
came in and asked what was the matter. " Naboth the 
Jezreelite will not sell me his vineyard," whined the king. 
Now in the country of Jezebel the kings were more absolute 
monarchs, and more tyrannical, than they had become in 
the land of Israel, and Jezebel gave quick advice from her 
own experience. " Are you king in Israel?" she asked. 
" Come, cheer up, and I will get Naboth's vineyard for you." 
So she sent written orders to some of the court officers to 
arrest Naboth, and have him accused of some crime and then 
put to death. When she had written the letters, she sealed 
them with Ahab's royal signet ring. The officers did as she 
commanded, and then Jezebel said triumphantly to Ahab, 
" Arise now, and go take the vineyard that Naboth refused 
to sell to you, for Naboth is dead." So Ahab got his vineyard, 



Lesson Thirteen — Elijah 63 

but the act brought a dreadful penalty on him and on his 
wicked queen. 

The Champion of the Rights of the People. Elijah soon 
heard of the act of Jezebel and Ahab, and hurried to accuse 
Ahab, his soul full of righteous indignation at this wicked 
disregard of popular rights and of justice. He found the king 
in Naboth's vineyard, surveying his ill-gotten possession, 
and the king's guilty conscience told him what was coming. 
" Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" asked Ahab. And 
Elijah replied, " I have found thee, because thou hast sold 
thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah. 
Jehovah shall bring evil upon thee, and utterly cut off all 
that are of thine house. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel by 
the ramparts of Jezreel." And with these words, the prophet 
of righteousness left the guilty king to his own conscience. 
The Books of Kings tell how king Ahab repented in fear, 
but too late to undo all the mischief, and how the words of 
Elijah came true, of the punishment that came upon the house 
of Ahab, and of the terrible fate of the proud and haughty 
Jezebel who had persuaded Ahab to play the tyrant. 

As for Elijah, he went his way among the people, a strong 
man, respected by all for his uprightness and justice, until 
God took him to Himself. And to-day, among people to 
whom the name of Ahab is almost unknown, Elijah the proph- 
et is known as the Champion of Israel's Faith and Popular 
Liberties. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and also the Elijah stories in 
1 Ki. chs. 17-19, 21, and 2 Ki. 1:1—2:12. 

2. Where was Elijah during the famine (1 Ki. ch. 17)? 
How was his life saved ? 

3. Tell in your own words the story of the contest on 
Mount Carmel, and its result. (See lesson story and 1 Ki. 
ch. 18.) 

4. What commandment did the people disobey in wor- 
shiping Baal ? (Ex. 20 : 3 ; 34 : 14.) 

5. Tell the story of Elijah's experience at Mount Horek 
and the lesson he learned from it. (1 Ki. 19: 1-18.) 

6. Tell the story of Naboth's vineyard. What punishment 
did Elijah say was to come upon Ahab and Jezebel (lesson 



64 Heroes of the Faith 

story and 1 Ki. ch. 21)? How were Elijah's predictions ful- 
filled (1 Ki. 22:29-38 and 2 Ki. ch. 9)? 

7. Tell the story of the end of Elijah's life. (2 Ki. 2: 1-12.) 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Start a new book for this quarter's work, with the first page for 
Elijah. Write his name at the top, and leave space underneath for a 
motto or sentence that seems to you to describe the spirit of the man 
and his work. This sentence is to be selected after you have finished 
the study. 

9. Select a picture for this lesson. Some good ones are Sargent's 
Prophets (Brown Xo. 844, Perry Xo. 1036, Wilde No. 503); Bonts, 
Elijah in the Desert (Wilde Xo. 495) ; Dore, Slaughter of the Prophets 
of Baal (Wilde Xo. 494). Paste the picture selected on the first page 
of your book. 

10. Write a short outline sketch of the life of Elijah, putting into 
it in fuller detail the story about him that you like best. 

11. What do you most admire in the character of Elijah? 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn 1 Ki. 19: 1-18 to use as a declamation. 



Lesson 14. AMOS. The Herdsman Prophet. 

Between 780 and 740 b. c. 

"Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto 
me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." Amos 7: 15. 

An Interrupted Festival. A religious festival was going on 
at Bethel, one of the sacred shrines of Israel. There were 
scenes of rejoicing and revelry, and of dissipation as well. 
There was much wine being drunk, and the people danced in 
a frenzy of excitement about the image of the bull which the 
king had set up. They were especially joyful this year, for 
business had been good, the king had won many battles, 
neighboring nations had been subjugated, the men of Israel 
had been getting rich, and everything looked prosperous. 

Suddenly a strange, wild-looking man pushed his way 
through the crowd to a place where all could see him. His 
dress and appearance showed that he was a laboring man, a 
shepherd, but there was something in his bearing and in the 



Lesson Fourteen — Amos 



65 



expression of his face that made men give way before him 
with respect, and turn to look after him curiously. Now he 
raises his voice, not in joyful celebration, but in a piercing 
wail of lamentation: 

" The virgin of Israel is fallen; 
vShe shall no more rise : 
She is cast down upon her land ; 
There is none to raise her up." 

The people were amazed and troubled. What does the 
man mean? Why does he raise this lamentation to spoil the 
merrymaking? What blasphemy, to speak evil of the nation 
when all can see that she is prosperous ! Who is the man, 
any way? And some one said, in awestruck tones, " 'Tis the 
shepherd prophet, Amos ; and this is not the first time he has 
raised his voice in condemnation of the nation for its sins. 
What will the king and the high priest say? " 

A Rebuke that Failed. They soon found out. The high 
priest, Amaziah, had been troubled before by this uncom- 
fortable prophet, who insisted upon calling 
things by their right names, and denouncing 
wrongdoing wherever he saw it. Only a short 
time before this the priest had said to the king, 
11 It will never do to have this fellow speaking 
against your rule in this way ; the people cannot 
stand it." And now the high priest undertakes 
to rebuke the prophet himself. Dressed in his 
magnificent robes, he advances upon the roughly 
clad shepherd, with stern anger in his face. 
" You seer ! " he cries, " go home to your own 
land, and prophesy for your living, but do so 
here at Bethel no more, for this is the king's 
sanctuary, and a royal house! " There was a 
faint murmur of approval from the interrupted 
merrymakers. "Ah ha! now see him slink 
away. How dared he speak thus in the pres- 
ence of the high priest ! " 

But those who expected to see the prophet cower before 
his stately opponent were greatly mistaken. Instead of that, 
he drew himself up with a gesture that was royal in its sug- 
gestion of authority. Here was the very man he desired to 
meet; one of those who was leading the people astray, ' 1 




Amos. 

From ii Copley 
print, copyright by 
Curtis &. Cameron. 



66 Heroes of the Faith 

am no professional prophet ! " he cried, his eyes flashing de- 
fiance and righteous indignation at the priest. " I was a 
shepherd and a farmer, and Jehovah took me from that work, 
and gave me a message for this people. And now do you say, 
' Prophesy not against Israel '? Hear me, Amaziah. Disas- 
ter and punishment shall come upon you and your family for 
your sin, and you shall die a captive in a strange land ! " 

The people could hardly believe their ears, nor their eyes 
either, as they saw the proud priest cringe before the stinging 
rebuke of the prophet. Here was a bold man surely ; what if 
he should be right? 

What the Prophet Condemned. There was need fof some 
one to raise his voice in rebuke, and to arouse Israel to a sense 
of her shortcomings. In the midst of material prosperity, 
the people had grown selfish and careless. It was not the 
worst of their evils that they had broken the commandment 
against setting up images for worship ; they had done worse 
than that. The rich had grown richer by deeds of injustice, 
and even cruelty. The poor had been oppressed, and the 
little they possessed had been taken away from them in order 
that the idle, luxurious wives and children of the rich might 
live in greater ease and comfort. Intemperance and drunk- 
enness were everywhere to be seen. Impurity of thought 
and speech and action were common. Israel was rapidly 
becoming as bad as the nations round about her, idolatrous, 
corrupt, utterly selfish ; and the prophet Amos, tending his 
flocks on the hillsides of Tekoa, had seen what was going on, 
and knew that such things could not continue long without 
bringing ruin in more ways than one. And, as he thought it 
all over, he began to see that God was calling him to be His 
messenger, to speak to the people, and reprove them for their 
sins and warn them of their danger. 

How Amos Got the Attention of the People. Amos was a 
skilful speaker. He knew that if he began at once to de- 
nounce the people of Israel, they would not listen at all. So 
one day he appeared in a public place, and cried out, " Je- 
hovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem. " 
And the people stopped to hear what this man would say in 
the name of Jehovah. " For three transgressions of Damas- 
cus, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment 
thereof." And as the prophet went on to tell of the wrongs 



Lesson Fourteen — Amos 67 

done by their old enemy, Syria, the people nodded approv- 
ingly and said, " Serves them right, they ought to be pun- 
ished." " For three transgressions of Gaza, yea, for four, I 
will not turn away the punishment thereof," continued the 
prophet; and the people were again delighted with the con- 
demnation of another old enemy, the Philistines. So it went 
on, until the prophet had their attention and their approval, 
as he foretold punishment upon one after another of their 
hated foes, and they never noticed that he was getting closer 
home all the time. Suddenly they looked up, startled and 
astonished — what did they hear? " For three transgressions 
of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment 
thereof: because they have sold the righteous for silver, and 
the needy for a pair of shoes." Ah, Israel, you approved 
when the prophet spoke of punishment to come upon others 
for their sins; you cannot dodge, now that it has come home 
to you. The people never could forget that sermon, much 
as many of them would have liked to. 

The Punishment of Israel. Amos was a far-sighted man, 
who studied what was happening, and saw what was surely 
coming if Israel went on in her course. The great Assyrian 
nation to the north of them was growing stronger all the 
while, and Amos saw that it would not be very long before 
Israel would fall before it, as so many others had done. The 
day would come when the intruder would be upon them, and 
men should flee, and yet not escape, and even the brave 
should run away from the peril that threatened. Then 
those who might gladly hear what God had to say through 
His prophets should have no opportunity so to do, for all 
would be carried away into captivity among strange nations. 
Their beautiful palaces would be in ruins, their fair fields 
would be laid waste, and the rich and prosperous nation of 
Israel would be desolate, with none to raise her up. 

Thus Amos taught the lesson that others of the prophets 
also taught, that wealth and prosperity, without righteous- 
ness, was no blessing, but only a curse; and that whoever 
transgressed God's law in order to gain his own selfish ends 
will surely suffer for it. It took courage of a very high order 
to speak so plainly the truth that men needed to hear in spite 
of their unwillingness to listen. And there are prophets 
to-day, just as courageous and just as clear-sighted, who are 



68 Heroes of the Faith 

against injustice and wrongdoing whether by rich or poor, 
and they are all messengers of God. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story, and then the Book of Amos, remember- 
ing that it consists of three sections: chs. 1, 2, the Intro- 
duction; chs. 3-6, a series of addresses of condemnation; and 
chs. 7-9, a series of visions of what was to come upon 
Israel, with a short bit of narrative in ch. 7, and some remarks 
upon Israel's sins. 

2. Notice carefully, as you read, what is said about the 
prosperity of the nation, the wrongs that were common, and 
the punishments that God would send. 

3. Read Lu. 9:25; Prov. 14:34, and find other Scriptural 
expressions of the same lesson that Amos taught. Can you 
find instances of it in modern life ? 

4. Upon whose authority did Amaziah order Amos not to 
prophesy at Bethel? 

5. Upon whose authority did Amos declare that he would 
speak his message? 

6. Read Acts 4: 1-20 and see if you can find there a similar 
case of courage. 

7. Under what circumstances is it right not to obey those 
who have legal authority? 

8. Read Micah 6:8, and find there a summary of right 
conduct as the prophets saw it. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write the heading for your Amos story at the top of a new page. 
A good motto to put underneath might be the words of Amos to Ama- 
ziah in 7: 14, 15. 

10. Paste underneath the heading Sargent's picture of Amos 
(Brown No. 843, Perry No. 1034, Wilde No. 505). 

11. Write a story of the work of Amos, bringing in the following 
points, the information for which may be found in the story and 
the Scripture references given. 

Who Amos was, and where he came from: Amos 7: 14. 

The kings of Israel and Judah in whose reigns he prophesied: 

Amos 1: 1. 
The political successes of Israel under Jeroboam II: 2 Ki. 14: 25, 

28. 
The signs of prosperity and wealth: Amos 3:12, 15; 5:11; 6:4-6. 



Lesson Fifteen — Jeremiah 



69 



MEMORY WORK. 

The book of Amos is full of addresses which make fine declamations : 
for instance, ch. 4; 5:1-15; ch. 8; 9:7-15. 
Learn Micah 6:8. 



The wrongs of the nation's social life: Amos 2:6; 3: 10; 5: 10-12; 8: 

4-6. 
The penalties that Amos predicted: Amos 2:1 3- 16; 3:11, 15; 8: 10- 

12; 9*9, 10. 
The good that God would send the people after they had repented : 

Amos 9: 11-15. 

12. Write at the close of your story the words of Micah in Micah 6 : 8. 



Lesson 15. JEREMIAH. The Enlightened Conscience of 

Judah. 

2 Ki. chs. 21-23; Jer. chs. 1, 19, 36-39. From 626 to about 580 b. c. 

"Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomsoever 
I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee 
thou shalt speak." Jer. 1:7. 

Troublous Times in Judah. About one hundred years after 
the time of Amos, there lived in the little village of Anathoth, 
near Jerusalem, a young man by the name of Jeremiah, 
among whose ancestors had been some famous priests. Jere- 
miah was very modest, though 
possessed of great ability and 
courage. He was patriotic, too, 
and this led him into much 
trouble, for things did not go 
well with the people of Judah 
during his life. Years before, 
the great king Hezekiah had 
started a reform which much 
improved the moral and relig- 
ious conditions of the land. 
Then had come his son, Manas- 
seh, under whose rule those 
who worshiped Jehovah expe- 
rienced evil times. Manasseh 
was followed by Amon, his 
son, but he reigned only two years, when he was assas- 
sinated by some of his servants. The people rose against 




The Prophet Jeremiah. 
By Michael Angelo. 



70 



Heroes of the Faith 



the conspirators, put them to death, and placed the young 
prince Josiah on the throne. 

Called to be a Prophet. Jeremiah felt keenly the troubled 
state of affairs. From his earliest childhood, he had been 
taught to love his country, and he believed that God had 
some special purpose for His people. He had also been taught 
that he should serve God as his fathers had done. 

Finally, the time came when he felt that God was calling 
him to begin his life-work of preaching to the people. In 
his youth and inexperience, he shrank from the task, know- 
ing that it would be no easy one. If he were faithful to his 
duty, he would have to say some very unpleasant things — 
things that would make his countrymen angry. They would 
refuse to listen to him; they might even do him harm. It 
was a hard struggle, but so great was Jeremiah's sense of 
duty, and so clear his conviction that God was calling him 
to this work, that he went into it in spite of all misgivings, 
and never turned back, even though it more than once led 
him into deadly peril. 

King Josiah's Reforms. About five years after Jeremiah 
began his work, a law book was found in the temple, which 

was probably our Book of Deuteron- 
omy. It was read to the king, and 
it affected him greatly when he real- 
ized how his people, through igno- 
rance, had not kept the laws of God. 
He walked up and down, tore his 
outer robe to show his grief, and de- 
clared that reforms must be made at 
once, in accordance with the teach- 
ings of this book. Conditions began 
to improve, but soon a great disaster 
came. 

Fatal Battle of Megiddo. There 
ruled in Egypt at this time a great 
From a photograph of an ancient Pharaoh, Necoh Ll 9 who was trying 

copy of the Pentateuch at Shechem. ^ ^^ ^^ frQm ^ Assyrians the 

country Egypt had once possessed. The king of Judah was a 
vassal of Assyria, and when Necoh marched north with his 
armies, Josiah decided to oppose him. It was a rash undertak- 
ing, since Josiah lost not only the battle but his life. His son 




Lesson Fifteen — Jeremiah 71 

became king, but only for three months, when Necoh placed 
Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, upon the throne of Judah. 

More Troubles for the Prophet. Jehoiakim was a selfish, 
luxury-loving king. In spite of the heavy tribute, or tax, 
imposed by Necoh upon the land, he had a costly palace 
built, forcing men to work on it without pay. In Jer. 22: 
13-17 are recorded words that the prophet spoke when re- 
buking the king for this injustice. As is usually the case, 
when thoroughly selfish men are reproved for their wrong- 
doing, many of Jeremiah's countrymen, who may have been 
interested in the king's projects, became angry at the brave 
prophet, and formed a plot to take his life. The prophet 
learned of it; but instead of being afraid, he publicly an- 
nounced the conspiracy, and denounced the conspirators. 
Soon after this, Jeremiah went to the temple and there de- 
livered a powerful sermon to a great congregation. It was 
a scathing rebuke for their wickedness and for the insincerity 
of their religious life. Among other things, he predicted 
that Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed as a pun- 
ishment. This was like blasphemy to most of the people, 
since it implied that Jehovah was not strong enough to defend 
His temple and the Holy City from harm. The priests and 
prophets tried to have Jeremiah put to death, and he was 
only saved by the interference of some princes. 

The next thing Jeremiah did was to take a number of the 
chief men of the city out into the valley of Hinnom, where 
all the refuse of Jerusalem was thrown, and there he dashed 
in pieces an earthen vessel, saying: " Thus saith Jehovah of 
hosts, the God of Israel, . . . even so will I break this people 
and this city." This made Pashhur, the chief officer of the 
temple, so angry that he struck Jeremiah, and put him in the 
public stocks. 

Jeremiah Collects his Sermons. Jeremiah now saw that 
he could not go on speaking so plainly without danger of 
imprisonment or death, but he had not the slightest idea of 
stopping on that account, for his conscience told him to be 
loyal to his mission. He determined to collect his sermons 
and to put them into writing, so that others might read 
them, even when he could not preach. So he called a young 
scribe, named Baruch, and had him write down the things 
that he most wanted the people to hear and remember. He 



72 Heroes of the Faith 

then sent Baruch to read the book in the temple. The princes 
heard of it, and sent for Baruch to read the book to them. 
" How did you come to write these words? " they asked. 
" Jeremiah the prophet dictated them to me," was Baruch's 
reply. " Go, then, and hide yourselves, both of you," said the 
princes. Then they took the book in to read to king Jehoiakim. 
They found him in his winter palace, sitting near the fire. 
They began to read, but before they had gone very far, the 
king snatched the book, cut it in pieces, and threw it into 
the flames. Then he ordered some of his officers to arrest 
Baruch and Jeremiah, but they kept out of the way. Jere- 
miah was so far from being intimidated by this action, that 
he went to work immediately to make a second collection of 
his sermons. This time he added a stinging rebuke to king 
Jehoiakim for destroying the first book, and predicted that 
he would meet a terrible fate. Nothing apparently could 
daunt the spirit of the heroic prophet. 

Jeremiah Accused of Treason. The years passed by. In 
the meantime Assyria and Egypt had been defeated by 
Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylonia (or Chaldea). Judah 
had at first submitted, but in trying to throw off his yoke 
had failed and been severely punished. Jeremiah was wise 
enough to see that Judah's only hope lay in quiet submission 
to the Chaldean king, who was too strong to be successfully 
opposed, and this he persistently advised, but other counselors 
told the new king, Zedekiah, who was a weak and undecided 
character, that he ought to throw off the Chaldean yoke, 
and assured him that the Egyptians would help him. 

It was easy to raise the cry of " Freedom and Patriotism " ; 
it was also easy to accuse Jeremiah of cowardice, and even 
of treason, because he opposed the popular policies and 
counseled submission to Nebuchadrezzar. Zedekiah finally 
refused to pay tribute to the Chaldeans, and they at once 
besieged Jerusalem. The Egyptians came to their help. 
The siege was raised. Then the people were more sure than 
ever that they were right, and that Jeremiah was wrong, but 
he only said, " Wait and see; the Chaldean army will soon 
dispose of the Egyptians and return to Jerusalem." This 
increased the ill-will of the people, and one day when Jere- 
miah went out from the city, to attend to some business at 
his own home, his enemies got up a story that he was going 






Lesson Fifteen — Jeremiah 73 

to desert to the Chaldeans. He was arrested and cast into 
prison. He appealed to the king, and Zedekiah at first tried 
to save him, but later weakened under the arguments of 
Jeremiah's enemies. They took the prophet and let him 
down into a cistern, at the bottom of which he sank into deep 
mire, and there they left him to starve or suffocate. It 
surely looked as if the prophet's work was done. 

Rescued. Again. But not so. Jeremiah still had friends, 
one of whom, Ebed-melech, a negro upper servant in the 
king's palace, went to the king and protested so vigorously 
that Zedekiah again changed his mind, and told him to take 
thirty men to help him rescue the prophet. They let down 
ropes with some old rags to put under Jeremiah's arms, so 
that the cords would not cut as they pulled him out of the 
mire, and drew him up to safety. 

A Faithful Counselor. Then king Zedekiah sent for Jere- 
miah and asked his advice. " What shall I do about the 
Chaldeans? " he asked. " If I tell you the truth, O king, 
you will not hearken, and will probably deliver me up to my 
enemies again." " As Jehovah liveth," replied the king, 
" I will not put you to death, nor will I give you up to those 
men," Then Jeremiah repeated his advice, to submit to 
Nebuchadrezzar as the only safe course. King Zedekiah 
was afraid to follow this counsel, the popular demand was so 
strong the other way. He kept his word to Jeremiah, how- 
ever, and said nothing of their interview. 

The Prophet Justified. It was not long before the wisdom 
of Jeremiah's words became apparent. Nebuchadrezzar 
captured Jerusalem, king Zedekiah was taken prisoner, his 
sons were killed before his face, his own eyes were put out, 
and he was carried in chains into Babylon. This was the 
end of the kingdom of Judah. Nebuchadrezzar appointed 
an officer to look after the country, and the few who were 
left there. Jeremiah remained in Judah and continued his 
thankless task of giving wise counsel to a people who seemed 
to have utterly lost their senses. 

An Exile in Egypt. Before long, an irresponsible band of 
fanatics assassinated Gedaliah, the Jewish governor who 
had been appointed by the Chaldean conqueror, Jeremiah 
again counseled quiet and order, saying that Nebuchadrezzar 



74 Heroes of the Faith 

would not punish them all for the act of a few. But again 
they refused to listen, and fled in a panic to Egypt, forcing 
Jeremiah to go with them. Here the heroic old prophet 
ended his work. Tradition says that he was stoned to death 
by his own countrymen, angry no doubt at some plain speak- 
ing for their own good. Thus ended a career of one who was 
in many respects the grandest of Old Testament prophets, a 
true hero, naturally quiet and retiring, yet absolutely coura- 
geous in the discharge of his duty, a man of th&t type de- 
scribed by the poet Lowell: 

11 Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes — they were souls that stood 
alone, 
While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone ; 
Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline 
To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine, 
By one man's plain truth to manhood and to God's supreme de- 
sign." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the first section of the lesson story, " Troublous 
Times in Judah," then read 2 Ki. ch. 21, to get a clear idea 
of the situation that Jeremiah had to face ; then finish read- 
ing the story. 

2. Where did Jeremiah come from, and who was his father? 
(Jer. 1:1.) 

3. What made Jeremiah shrink at first from taking up his 
life's work, and what overcame his hesitation? (Jer. 1:6-8.) 

4. What message did he have for the people of Judah? 
(Read one of his sermons, Jer. ch. 7, for example.) 

5. Read Jer. ch. 26, and see how the people received this 
sermon. 

6. Read Jer. ch. 36. Why did Jeremiah have his sermons 
written? How were they received by the king? What do 
you find in this chapter that indicates Jeremiah's courage? 

7. Why did Jeremiah advise king Zedekiah to submit to 
Nebuchadrezzar? (Jer. ch. 37.) 

8. What accusation did the people bring to Jeremiah on 
this account? 

9. What trouble did this bring upon Jeremiah? How 
was his life saved? (Jer. ch. 38.) 

10. Where did Jeremiah die? 



Lesson Sixteen — John Wyclif 75 

11. Which of the three prophets you have studied about 
do you like best: Elijah, Amos, or Jeremiah? Why? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

12. On a new page of your note-book, write the name of the prophet 
and the main facts about his home, parentage, scene of his life-work, 
and the reigns in which he labored, as given in Jer. 1 : 1-3. 

13. Paste underneath this the picture selected for this lesson. 
Sargent's Jeremiah, Jonah, Isaiah, Habakkuk is good (Brown Xo. 
845, Perry No. 1037, Wilde No. 507). 

14. Write a thorough account of any incident in the life of Jeremiah 
that seems to you best to illustrate his heroism, 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Jer. 9:23, 24. 

Jeremiah's sermon in the temple, given in ch. 7 of his book, would 
make a fine declamation, either entire or in part; also, Jer. 24:1-7, 
or the oracle against Egypt, 46: 1-12. 



Lesson 16. JOHN WYCLIF. " The Morning Star of the 
Reformation." 

Born about 1324; died Dec. 31, 1384. 

" Jehovah is my light and my salvation; 
Whom shall I fear? 
Jehovah is the strength of my life; 
Of whom shall I be afraid?" Ps. 27: 1. 
11 I believe that in the end the truth will conquer." — Wyclif. 

Stirring Times in Old England. If you had lived in England 
in the days of Edward III and his brave son, " The Black 
Prince," you would hardly have lacked for excitement. 
Very likely you would have had more of it than you alto- 
gether cared for. England was at war with France for many 
long and weary years, until finally victory was hers, and many 
are the tales of knightly heroism and adventure that have 
come down to us from this period of history. But there 
are many dark shadows in the picture, and some things that 
are unpleasant to look upon. There was really but one church 
in those days, and that was the great Church of Rome with 
the pope at its head. The pope had grown more and more 
strong, and had extended his spiritual rule over more and more 
lands, until at last he had come to want the political power 



76 



Heroes of the Faith 



as well, and practically claimed the entire rule. He did not 
actually wish to manage the affairs of the kingdom, but only 
to have the king pay a certain amount of tribute money to 
him in recognition of his overlordship. Then there were all 
sorts of other ways of exacting tribute: Peter's pence, 
tithes and taxes and " firstfruits " and special grants, until 
matters got to such a pass that the pope was getting more 
money from England than the English government could 
collect for its own uses. To make matters worse, the priests 
and monks and friars lived in idleness, gluttonous luxury and 
even sinfulness, shocking all pure-minded and genuinely 
devout people by their corrupt lives, while plundering these 
same good people of their means. And if people protested 
or refused to do as the church ordered, then various ways 
of punishing them were found, even to excommunication, 
by which one was cut off from all the benefits of the church, 
and from many of the pleasures of human society. 

A Champion of Justice. A few years before Edward came 
to the throne of England, there was born somewhere near 
Richmond a boy whom God was to use as the means of start- 
ing some very important reforms in the church. We know 

very little about the boyhood or 
early life of John Wyclif. He was 
educated for the ministry, studied 
at Oxford University, and became 
one of its most famous teachers. 
From the very first he was dis- 
tinguished for his love of the Bible 
and the prominence which he gave 
to it in his teaching. He also felt 
very keenly the insincerity and 
frequent immorality of the clergy, 
and spoke strongly against such 
abuses. But the thing that first 
John Wyclif. brought him into general public 

notice was his advice to Parliament when pope Urban V 
demanded the payment of the annual tribute, which had 
been imposed years before in the time of king John, but 
which had not been paid for thirty-three years. Wyclif 
advised Parliament not to pay it, and they refused the pope's 
demand absolutely. This was a bold thing for Wyclif to do, 




Lesson Sixteen — John Wyclif 77 

for he was himself a priest, and therefore in a special way 
under the control and power of the pope. But he chose to 
follow his own conscience rather than consider his chances 
of advancement in the church. 

Attacking the Friars, England was at this time overrun 
with the mendicant friars, representatives of the orders 
founded by Dominic and Francis. On the continent of 
Europe these friars were behind the Inquisition, with all its 
frightful persecution and tortures, and their power was very 
great. They were supported by the pope, because they were 
useful to him. Few people dared incur their suspicion even, 
much less oppose them openly. Yet they had degenerated 
into a social plague, going about and begging from the people, 
while they themselves lived in luxury, practising all sorts 
of impositions and frauds, playing upon the superstitions 
and ignorance of the people, and thus keeping them in their 
power. Wyclif boldly denounced these men, and exposed 
their claims and pretensions, and this brought upon him 
even more strongly the hatred of the papacy. 

Accused of Heresy. Before long, Wyclif was summoned 
to appear before a council headed by the lord bishop of Lon- 
don, to answer for his teachings. In those days it was a 
serious thing to be accused of heresy, or teaching not approved 
by the church. For a priest it might mean loss of his position 
and means of livelihood in the church, and also a summons 
to Rome ; and there, once in the power of the pope, it might 
mean trial before the Inquisition, and martyrdom. But all 
this troubled Wyclif very little. Nor did he have to go alone, 
though he would undoubtedly have done so, as he did later. 
His disinterested services to the government had won powerful 
friends, and when he went to this council, he was accompanied 
by the duke of Lancaster and the earl marshal of England, 
two of the most influential men in the realm. The council 
never got to any conclusion, for a dispute at once broke out 
between those champions of the reformer and the bishop 
of London, and the meeting broke up in a riot. Wyclif went 
straight on with his teaching, and soon his enemies sent a 
list of charges against him to the pope. The reply was a 
number of papal decrees, or " bulls, " calling upon the king, 
Oxford University, the archbishop and all the clergy to arrest 
Wyclif, stop his teaching and try him for heresy. Very little 



78 Heroes of the Faith 

attention was paid to these demands. Wyclif was too strong 
in the favor of both king and people to be touched. Finally 
another council was held, and Wyclif was again summoned. 
He went with the same boldness as before, made answer 
to the charges, showing that he would not take back a word 
of his teaching, and awaited his sentence. But a vast crowd 
of the people had followed him to the council, and threatened 
mischief if anything were done to harm their champion. 
Moreover, a messenger came from the queen mother herself, 
forbidding the council to pass sentence upon Wyclif. The 
bishops were afraid to do anything, and let Wyclif go with a 
very mild reproof, and the condemnation of his teachings. 
This troubled him not at all, for he went right on teaching. 

The Tables Turned upon the Pope. So far, Wyclif had been 
opposing the papacy and clergy on the grounds of political 
rights and common morality. Now he began to attack them 
on the grounds that they were heretics themselves, and that 
they were teaching things that Christ Himself never taught. 
This aroused even greater anger, because if their teaching 
were overturned the power of the pope and priests would be 
gone. Even Wyclif's friends in the government and the 
university began to turn against him. The duke of Lancaster 
told him he had better leave the teaching of the church alone. 
Wyclif replied with dignity and firmness that he must teach 
what he believed to be true, and he added, " I believe that 
in the end the truth will conquer." 

The Greatest Weapon of All. Wyclif was now on ground 
where the selfish interests of many who had supported him 
before did not follow, and so he stood practically alone. 
Moreover, he added another to the list of charges against 
him by translating the Bible into the English language, so 
that all who could read might have it for themselves. Hither- 
to, it had been obtainable in Latin only, and none but the 
clergy could read it. The church had kept it away from the 
people, and taught them only what it pleased. Now, all 
might read and find out God's truth for themselves. Bitter 
words were spoken of Wyclif for this act, but it endeared 
him more than ever to the common people. This translation 
of the Bible was, after all, Wyclif's greatest work, and the 
one for which he is most widely known and remembered. 



Lesson Sixteen — John Wyclif 79 

Its language is quaint and unfamiliar to us, as may be seen 
from the reading of the Lord's Prayer, Mt. 6 : 9-13, in the Wyclif 
Bible. 

" Jforsiotbe tbug pe gfmlen prepen, @\xxt fabtr t^at art in 
iftutnt*, fjaltotb be tfji name; tiji fejmgbom cumme to; be tfn toille 
bon as; in fjeuen anb in ertfje; gtf to bg tfn* bap oure breeb ouer 
otber gubsitaunee: anb forgeue to b* oure bettis?, a* toe forgeue 
to oure bettoursi; anb Ieebe b* nat in to temtactoun, but beljmere 
bg from euel." 

But it was the common language of the day, and dear to the 
people. 

Condemned by the Roman Church, but Undaunted. Wyclif 
was again summoned before an ecclesiastical council to 
answer for his attacks upon the doctrines of the church. He 
knew that his position in the university and in the church 
was at stake, and perhaps his life as well. But when the 
lord bishop called upon him to state whether or no he had 
spoken against the teachings of the church, and, if so, to 
recant, Wyclif looked steadily at him and the others, and 
replied with another of those keen, merciless reproofs .directed 
against the clergy who were teaching false doctrines in order 
to maintain their own power over the people, instead of 
teaching the truth and living lives of service. And then, 
having delivered this mingled rebuke and defiance, he left 
the room with such dignity and calmness that even his en- 
emies dared not stop him. He went home to the parish of 
Lutterworth, of which he was pastor, and passed the remain- 
der of his days in peace, serving the people who loved him, 
and continuing his work of translating the Bible and teaching 
the truth. He was finally stricken with paralysis and died 
at home. Wyclif is called " The Morning Star of the Reforma- 
tion/' because he was one of those who first began to teach 
the truths that later led men to throw off the yoke of supersti- 
tion and oppression which the Roman church had laid upon 
them. He is a conspicuous example of a man who dared 
to follow the truth wherever it might lead, and who was pro- 
tected by his own boldness, and by the fact that he was able 
to lead even the statesmen of his day. 



80 Heroes of the Faith 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story, and then answer the following questions : 

2. What evils were common in England when Wyclif 
began his work? 

3. What first brought him into prominence? 

4. What means were taken to counteract his work, and 
how were these defeated ? 

5. What was his last and greatest work? 

6. What gave him courage to keep on with his work in 
face of powerful opposition? 

7. Look up anything more that you can find out about 
Wyclif, either in books written about him, or in the encyclo- 
pedias. An interesting short story of his life is written by 
David J. Deane: John Wiclijje, the. Morning Star of the 
Reformation. In looking him up it is important to notice 
that different writers spell his name differently: Wiclif, 
Wicliffe, Wyclif, etc. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Write a short story of Wyclif, emphasizing any incident that 
most appeals to you in his life. 

9. What seems to you the greatest thing to be learned from his life 
and work? 

10. In what way does Wyclif resemble any of the Bible characters 
you have just studied? 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the words of Christ in Mt. 10:16-19. These were words 
that Wyclif loved to read, and that inspired him. 



Lesson Seventeen — Girolamo Savonarola 81 

sson 17. GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA. The Patriot 
Priest of Italy. 

Born Sept. 21, 1452; died May 23, 1498. 

" By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted; 
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked." Prov. 11:11. 

Childhood and Youth in Sunny Italy. Forty years before 
Columbus discovered America, Girolamo Savonarola was 
born in the city of Ferrara, in the north of Italy. His grand- 
father was a distinguished physician, and Girolamo was 
educated for the same profession. As a lad he was quiet, 
retiring, and a little inclined to be melancholy, but of an 
affectionate disposition. There was much in the life about 
him to make a pure and sensitive spirit sad. The condition 
of society and the church, bad in the days of Wyclif, had 
grown worse, until the priests and the monks, who should 
have been leaders in all good ways, were as bad as can well 
be imagined. All this weighed heavily upon the mind of 
young Savonarola. He would often wander in the open 
fields and by the river banks, weeping for very shame as he 
thought of the sin and wickedness all about him. Meanwhile 
men went on in careless indifference, paying little heed to the 
noble lad who cared so much for them or the tears of honest 
indignation that he shed because of their ways. 

Convent Life. Finally Girolamo could no longer endure the 
sight and sound of so much wickedness. He determined to 
retire into a convent, which was the best way that men knew 
at that time to escape from the evil in the world. He went 
to the convent of Bologna, asking that he be allowed to do 
the plainest kind of menial work. He had been a bright 
student, but was so sick of the empty kind of learning of which 
men thought most in those days that he was anxious to get 
away from it all. Soon he was appointed to be the teacher of 
the novices in the convent. This was not what he wished to 
do, but obedience was one of the first rules of the brother- 
hood, and he obeyed cheerfully, and did the work to the best 
of his ability. He soon learned that he had not left all the 
folly and wickedness of the world behind him. Even in the 
convent he found selfishness and laziness and immorality. 
His own pure life was a rebuke to those 4 about him, and his 
noble spirit was soon stirred to begin the work of reform that 
led to his death. 



82 Heroes of the Faith 

The Brother of St. Mark's. Savonarola was later trans- 
ferred to the city of Florence, where was the convent of St. 
Mark, or San Marco, as it is called in their language. He 
was called upon to preach, but at first made a failure of it. He 
had none of the tricks of eloquence of which the speakers of 
that day made so much, and few people would listen to him. 
Florence was at this time completely under the rule of 

the famous Lorenzo de' Medici, 
called " The Magnificent," who had 
robbed the city of its ancient 
liberties while keeping up a pre- 
tence of them. In return for 
liberty, and to keep the people 
contented, he indulged them in 
all sorts of games, carnivals, and 
the most foolish and degrading 
excesses. The carnivals were 
celebrated with songs and dances 
that we would not allow for an 
instant upon the public streets. 
Savonarola was indignant at what 

Girolamo Savonarola. he ^^ and get himself with firm 

determination against these abuses and the man who was re- 
sponsible for them. 

Savonarola and Lorenzo de' Medici. There came a time 
when Savonarola gained a sudden power that made his 
preaching a new thing, for God gave him a message, just as 
He gave messages to the Old Testament prophets. Then 
he began to speak to the people of their sins, and to announce 
the judgment that would surely come upon them, until they 
trembled for fear. They came in ever greater crowds to 
hear him. Extra wooden galleries had to be built in the great 
cathedral to accommodate the throngs. People got up in the 
middle of the night and went to the cathedral, so as to get 
good places to hear. Lorenzo de' Medici was soon forced 
to take notice of this man who alone in all that city dared to 
face him and to rebuke him publicly for his wrongdoing. 
But, except for these rebukes, he could not make the preacher 
take notice of him. Savonarola was elected prior of the con- 
vent, and it was the custom that each newly elected prior 
should go to Lorenzo and do homage to him as the protector 




Lesson Seventeen — Girolamo Savonarola 83 

of the city and the convent. Savonarola did not go. The 
timid brothers of the convent came and suggested that he 
ought to do so. " Did Lorenzo de' Medici make me prior; 
or did God?" asked Savonarola. " God, of course," replied 
the brothers. " Then I will thank my Lord, not mortal 
man," was the reply. In religious affairs, Savonarola would 
recognize as his superior no man whom he saw to be the evil 
genius of his beloved city. He went on preaching, sparing no 
one, prince or priest, in his scathing rebukes. Yet in it all 
he spoke with gentleness, even tenderness. We can hardly 
imagine now what courage it took to say such things in those 
days, when the rulers in both church and state were in the 
habit of putting to death most cruelly those who dared oppose 
their will. It took more than a little heroism to face the 
terrors of the Inquisition. Savonarola knew perfectly well 
what risks he was incurring. He expected martyrdom, and 
often spoke of it. 

Piero de* Medici. Lorenzo died, and was succeeded by his 
son Piero, haughty, imperious, as dissipated and wicked as his 
father, but not nearly so wise or politic. He hated Savonarola 
bitterly from the first, and sought to get rid of him in some 
way, but he could not frighten the prior of San Marco. Nor 
did he dare go too far in attacking him, for fear of the people, 
for by this time Savonarola had gained wonderful power over 
all the people of Florence. They almost worshiped the 
man who so bravely told them the truth and was so gentle 
and loving in his good deeds among them. So his enemies 
had to proceed against him by cowardly and treacherous 
means, biding their time and plotting ceaselessly how they 
might destroy him. 

Invasion of the French. In 1494 Charles VIII of France 
invaded Italy. Fear prevailed on every hand, but Savona- 
rola was calm and undisturbed. Like the prophets of Israel, 
he saw in this the judgment of God on the land and that it 
might be for the good of the people. One day the cathedral 
was crowded with people who had been waiting a long time 
for the preacher to appear. At last Savonarola entered the 
pulpit. There was absolute silence in that great throng. 
With solemn utterance he gave out his text : H And behold, 
I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth." Every 
one thought of the French and shuddered as the preacher 



84 Heroes of the Faith 

went on with his sermon, telling them that God Himself 
was directing the French armies. Piero de' Medici now 
played the coward. He went out with an embassy to meet 
the French king, and gave over to him all the defenses of the 
city without making any attempt to secure terms for it. 
The city was in a tumult of rage and despair. It needed very 
little to start a wild riot of bloodshed and vengeance on the 
family that had betrayed them. Then they turned to the 
one man whom they had learned to trust, and rushed to the 
cathedral. There they heard words like these : 

" Now the sword has come, the prophecies have been ful- 
filled, the scourges have begun. It is the Lord who guides 
these armies, O Florence ! The time of songs and dances has 
passed, away; it is now time to bewail thy sins with rivers of 
tears. Thy sins, Florence ! thy sins, Rome ! thy sins, O 
Italy ! are the cause of these stripes. ... I turn to thee, my 
Lord, who didst die for love of us and for our sins. Pardon, 
O Lord, pardon the people of Florence, who now desire to be 
thine." 

A Leader in a Crisis. Under the spell of Savonarola's 

words, the city turned to him as a child to its father. He 
held them steady, he kept order, he went out to meet the 
French king for them and spoke to him as fearlessly as he had 
to Lorenzo de' Medici, he gained for the city consideration 
of which the other ambassadors had despaired, he became 
the leading adviser in the formation of a new government 
which, for a time, restored the liberties of the city after the 
treacherous Medici were banished. A more wonderful 
exhibition of power on the part of one true, unselfish, wise 
man over an entire city has probably never been seen. Well 
for Florence had she remained loyal to her prophet and con- 
tinued to listen to his counsel. But dark days were coming — 
dark for Savonarola, darker yet for fair Florence. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and, in addition, whatever you 
can fine! out about Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, or Savona- 
rola, in encyclopedias or other books. George Eliot's Romola 
brings in much of the story of Savonarola. Mrs. Oliphant's 
Makers of Florence, and Lord's Beacon Lights of History, 
vol. hi, are both very interesting. Lives of Savonarola may 
be procured in any public library. 



Lesson Eighteen — Girolamo Savonarola 85 

2. Why did Savonarola become a monk? 

3. In what city did he take up his life-work? 

4. Who was ruler here, and what kind of man was he? 

5. How did Savonarola conduct himself toward this ruler ? 

6. Read 1 Ki. 21:20-22; Amos 2:6; 7:14, 15; Jer. 7:1-7; 
Lu. 13:31-35. In what ways are the experiences of Savona- 
rola like the incidents narrated in these references ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Write Savonarola's name and the places and dates of his birth 
and death at the head of a new page. Select a picture, perhaps 
the portrait of Savonarola (Brown No. 614, Perry No. 2577), and paste 
underneath. 

8. Write a story of Savonarola's early life, bringing in the following 
points : 

His boyish characteristics. 

His feelings about the life of the time. 

The first great decision of his life, and its cause. 

The city of which he became a citizen. 

Its ruler, and Savonarola's relations to him. 

The great crisis through which Savonarola helped the city. 

MEMORY WORK. 

There is a chapter in the New Testament that might well be called 
The Honor Roll of the Heroes of Faith. It is well worth knowing 
by heart. Learn Hebrews 11 : 1-10 in connection with this lesson. 



Lesson 18. GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA. A Prophet who 
Met a Prophet's Fate. 

" The memory of the righteous is blessed; 
But the name of the wicked shall rot." Pro v. 10 : 7. 

A Reform of Manners. Savonarola was now, for a time, 
the practical ruler of Florence. People turned to him for 
advice on almost every detail of the new government. The 
most important of the laws were first suggested by him. 
He was the brain and conscience of the city. It would have 
been easy for him to turn this power to his own inter- 
ests, but he thought only of the betterment of the people. 
He saw clearly that true liberty was essential to the best 
interests of Florence, and he helped to safeguard that. He 
had introduced many reforms into the life of the convent 



86 • Heroes of the Faith 

over which he was head, and he now introduced many more 
into the life of the city. Among the other wild and reckless 
scenes of the carnival time, it had been the custom for the 
boys to run riot, stopping people on the streets and almost 
forcing money from them, throwing stones, fighting one with 
another around their great bonfire in the square, and doing 
much damage. Savonarola organized these boys into bands, 
each with its captain. He sent them about the city to collect, 
not money, but the various costumes and things that had 
been used at the carnival time. These they brought into 
the public square, and there made of them such a bonfire 
as they had not had even in their wildest days. The carnival 
for a time was reformed. 

His Enemies Stirred Up. These reforms made many 
enemies, as well as friends, for Savonarola. There were 
many who disliked having their selfish pleasures interfered 
with. There were undoubtedly some, who had made money 
out of the excesses of the people, who did not like having 
their gains cut down. Piero de' Medici was constantly 
plotting how he might regain control of the city, and he knew 
that he never could do this so long as Savonarola had so 
much power. The pope was becoming increasingly angered 
at him for his unsparing condemnation of the clergy for their 
evil ways. All these enemies were constantly plotting and 
conspiring together against him. Savonarola saw only too 
clearly what the end must be. Sooner or later his enemies 
would get him in their power, and he knew that he need 
expect no mercy. But Savonarola had no more idea of 
shrinking from his duty, on this account, than Jeremiah had 
when threatened by the king and princes, or than Jesus had 
when warned that Herod would kill Him if He did not stop 
His teaching. He went straight on with his preaching. 
One day, after hearing of a particularly severe criticism of 
himself, the pope asked one of the bishops of the church to 
make public reply to Savonarola. "But," said the bishop, 
" how can I answer him? What he says is true, is it not? I 
advise you to buy him off. Offer to make him a cardinal 
if he will stop preaching against the church." This advice 
pleased the pope, and he sent a special messenger to see 
Savonarola. The prophet met the man kindly, but when 
he heard his errand he told him to come to the sermon the 
next day, and he should have his reply. He got it, in a 



Lesson Eighteen — Girolamo Savonarola 87 

public and scathing rebuke of the pope for attempting to 
buy him off, and an indignant refusal of the offer to silence 
him by bribery. 

The Ordeal by Fire. Finally, his enemies managed to get 
Savonarola into an unfortunate predicament which greatly 
injured his influence with the people. He had finally been 
excommunicated by the pope, but went on with his work, 
disregarding the papal command. A Franciscan monk 
made a public attack upon the teachings of Savonarola, and 
challenged him to the ordeal by fire, a foolish custom some- 
times resorted to in earlier times, to prove which of two 
parties in a dispute was right. Each champion was to pass 
through a great bonfire, and if one came out unhurt it was 
to be a -sign that he was right. Savonarola was at first 
opposed to such a test, but Fra Domenico, one of his most 
devoted supporters, took up the challenge, firm in his faith 
that God would justify His prophet. The Franciscan had 
no idea of ever going near the fire himself, but he hoped that 
he might get Savonarola into it, and thus take his life. The 
rulers who were in power just at this time were hostile to 
Savonarola, and they helped on this plan to discredit or kill 
their enemy. Though faithful Domenico insisted upon him- 
self undergoing the ordeal, saying that God had a greater 
work for Savonarola, the rulers hoped in some way to injure 
the brave preacher. 

A day was set for the ordeal. The great square was crowded 
with people eager to see this terrible sight. In the center was 
a huge pile of inflammable stuff with a passage through the 
middle wide enough for the two champions. Savonarola 
and the brothers of San Marco appeared with Fra Domenico, 
who was to make the trial for their side. The soldiers of 
Florence were there, and also armed men from among the 
friends of Savonarola, determined to protect him against 
any sudden attack that might be made. But the monk 
who had issued the challenge and the one who was to go 
through the ordeal were not on hand. The Franciscans 
raised all kinds of objections, to delay matters and excuse 
them for not appearing. First they said that Domenieo's 
garments had been enchanted against the fire. He promptly 
changed them for others. Then they objected to his carrying 
a crucifix into the fire, and he laid this aside and took only 
the sacrament. Meanwhile they were circulating all sorts 



88 



Heroes oj the Faith 



of rumors and trying to lay the blame of the delay upon 
Savonarola. The people, many of them hostile, most of 
them only conscious that they were being cheated out of the 
spectacle they had come to see, grew more and more impatient 
and unruly, and finally, when the rulers sent word that the 
ordeal would not take place, it was all that the soldiers 
friendly to Savonarola could do to get him back in safety 
to the convent. It was all exceedingly unjust, but a mob 
is always unjust, and the enemies of Savonarola had counted 
upon this. The}* had succeeded in turning the mob against 
him and breaking his influence over the people, and the rest 
was easy. 

The Final Tragedy. The next day was Palm Sunday, 
the anniversary of thai day when Jesus entered Jerusalem 
in triumph, only to go out of it to the cross. A brother of 
San Marco was to preach that evening in the cathedral. 
The enemies of Savonarola attacked the cathedral to prevent 
the sermon from being given. There was a wild scene of 
bloodshed and riot, Savonarola at first forbade resistance, 
but he could not prevent his followers from defending them- 
selves and him. The rulers sent an order for Savonarola, 

Domenico and another monk to 
give themselves up and come 
to the palace, promising to set 
them at liberty as soon as the 
riot was over. Savonarola and 
Domenico obeyed. They were 
bound and hurried through the 
crowd amid every imaginable kind 
of insult and violence. Stones were 
thrown at them, they were pounded, 
kicked, reviled and all this by 
the very populace that only a few 
years before had hailed Savona- 
rola as its prophet and deliverer. 
Brought before the rulers, they 
were brieflv questioned, and then, 
Palazzo VeccMo instead of beino- set at liberty, as 

The execution of Savonarola took place ° 

in front of the fountain at the left in T^ aS promised, theV Were put mtO 
the picture. r - r 

prison. The third monk, Silves- 
tro. was in hiding, but was betrayed and arrested also. Then 
followed the examination before a tribunal made up of the 




Lesson Eighteen — Girolamo Savonarola 89 

bitterest enemies of Savonarola. They tried to make him 
confess that he had deceived the people and claimed to teach 
in God's name what was only for his own glory. To accom- 
plish this, they used the method common in those days, that 
of torture. Savonarola was subjected to the most fiendish tor- 
ment for eleven days, until he was often delirious from agony. 
Even then they could get nothing that would convict him, so 
they published false accounts of his replies. Then came com- 
missioners from the pope, empowered also to examine the 
accused man. They arrived boasting that they had the sen- 
tence all ready. They might better have passed it at once, 
but they were not so merciful. Again the brave, gentle 
Savonarola was dragged from his cell and made to endure 
two or three days more of torture before the sentence of death 
was passed upon him. His companions were examined 
separately, and in addition to the torture they were told that 
their master had confessed himself to have been entirely in 
the wrong. 

Their last night on earth was passed in the hall which had 
been built for the great council which Savonarola had helped 
to form. On its walls were the lines that he himself had 
written : 

" If this great council and sure government, 
O people, of thy city never cease 
To be by thee preserved as by God sent, 

In freedom shalt thou ever stand, and peace." 

The next morning the three monks were led forth into the 
great square, and there, amid the jeers and hoots of the people 
for whom Savonarola had labored so unselfishly, they were 
hung and then burned. 

It might seem as if Savonarola had failed utterly, and that 
his enemies had triumphed. But not so. Florence found 
out too late her error in departing from the wise counsel of 
the man she had sacrificed. The memory of the miserable 
pope who triumphed for a time is now scorned and despised 
by the whole civilized world, while Savonarola left a name 
that will always stand among the Heroes of the Faith. His 
intense moral earnestness and his reliance on the Bible as a 
safe and sufficient guide made him a forerunner of the reforma- 
tion which under Luther broke the spiritual despotism of 
the papacy. 



90 Heroes of the Faith 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Review the previous lesson story, and read this one 
through. Read further the books about Savonarola that 
you have at hand, or can find in the library, and learn more 
of the details of his later life. 

2. In what ways did Savonarola show his unselfishness? 
his purity of heart and life ? his courage ? his devotion to his 
duty? 

3. In what respects was his death like that of Jesus? (See 
Mt. 26:3, 4, 47-67; 27:27-31, 39-44.) 

4. What are some of the greatest things that Savonarola 
did for Florence ? for the church ? for all the world ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Select another picture, such as a view of Florence, the cathedral 
(Perry No. 1664, Brown No. 972), or the square (Piazza della Signoria) 
where Savonarola was executed. 

6. Finish your story, bringing in such incidents as most interest you 
in this lesson. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Hebrews 11 : 11-16. 



Lesson 19. MARTIN LUTHER. The Hero of the Protestant 

Reformation. 

Born Nov. 10, 1483; died Feb. 18, 1546. 

1 ' There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus." Rom. 8:1. 

The Miner's Boy at School and College. In the same year in 
which Girolamo Savonarola was put to death in the city of 
Florence, a fifteen-year-old lad came into 'the streets of 
Eisenach in northern Germany, and went from house to 
house singing to earn his bread. He had a fine voice and a 
pleasant face, and soon attracted the notice of Frau Ursula 
Cotta, the wife of one of the leading merchants of Eisenach. 
She invited him in, gave him something to eat, and, finding 
that he was trying to earn his living while getting an educa- 
tion, she gave him a home with her husband and herself. 
Nothing else that Ursula Cotta ever did brought her half so 
much fame as did her kind hospitality to this poor lad. For 
the boy was destined to become famous. He was to carry 
much farther than Savonarola the work of reforming the 



Lesson Nineteen — Martin Luther 91 

church, and was also to become the spokesman of the people of 
Germany. I wonder if he ever dreamed, as he looked up from 
the house of Frau Cotta to the great castle of the Wartburg 
on the mountain far above the town, that for centuries after 
his death that castle would be famous chiefly because of the 
time that he should spend there. Probably not, for as yet 
Martin Luther was but a plain lad, the son of a poor miner, 
Hans Luther of Mansfeld. His mother Gretha carried the 
family supply of wood on her back that she might warm and 
care for her children. Martin always loved and honored his 
parents, although they were stern in their discipline, too stern 
at times. His mother once whipped him until the blood came 
on account of the theft of a nut. His schoolmasters, too, were 
severe, one of them flogging Martin fifteen times in a single 
day. 

But Martin got along well in his studies, although as a boy 
he learned a lot of foolishness from the ignorant and super- 
stitious miners, who believed that the woods and streams of 
the mountains were peopled with sprites, and witches, and 
spirits both good and bad. Martin got many of these ideas 
into his head, and it took him a long while to learn better. 
His father wished him to become a lawyer, and young Luther 
studied for this profession at the University of Erfurt, then 
the leading university of Germany. He was devout and care- 
ful about religious matters, and always began the work of 
each day with prayer. He used to say, " To pray well is to 
study well." 

Luther Becomes a Monk. Because of his deeply religious 
nature, Luther did not find entire satisfaction in his legal 
studies. When he was about twenty-two years old two 
events occurred which, with other reasons, determined him to 
become a monk. An intimate friend was suddenly killed, 
and a little later Luther himself narrowly escaped death in 
a tremendous thunderstorm. In his fear, he called upon his 
saint and vowed to become a monk if his life was spared. 
Having made the vow, he stuck to it and entered the monas- 
tery two weeks later. His father was very angry, and for 
many years could not bring himself to forgive his son for this 
action. The day came, however, when he was proud of 
Martin for the great work he was doing. 

Luther's Cloister Life. You know something already about 



92 



Heroes of the Faith 



the conditions that prevailed within the monasteries in those 
days, although Luther did not find them quite as bad as 
Savonarola had in Italy. The church in Germany, though 
far from perfect, was much better than that in Italy. There 
were many who, like Luther, had taken this way of devoting 
themselves to a really religious life. Luther was faithful in 
his duties, working hard, and inflicting all kinds of peniances 
and fasts upon himself in order that he might quiet his con- 
science and find peace of mind. He constantly troubled 
himself about his sins, and believed that evil thoughts were 
sinful even when he did not yield to them. He learned better 
in later life, and used to say that evil thoughts were like the 
birds: " You cannot prevent the birds from flying over your 
head, but you can keep them from making nests in your 
hair." His hard life told severely upon his strength, and at 
one time it seemed as if he would not live long. After a time, 
however, it dawned upon him that peace of mind was not to 
be gained through penances, but through following Jesus in 
faith and trust, loving God and serving one's fellow men. 
This was the great discovery of his life, and taught him the 
real meaning of the words of Paul, quoted at the head of this 
story. 

Another important experience in 
Luther's life was a visit to Rome 
on some business of the monas- 
teries. He went there on foot 
with high anticipations of the rich 
blessing that he should gain, for he 
thought of Rome much as the old 
Jews thought of Jerusalem. When 
he saw the city, he fell on his knees 
and cried out, " Hail, Holy Rome 1" 
Like many another pilgrim, he 
started to make the long ascent of 
" Pilate's staircase " on his knees, 
repeating a prayer at every step, 
when suddenly he seemed to hear a 
voice saying, " The just shall live 
by faith." He immediately sprang 
to his feet and left, ashamed of his folly. He soon learned 
that Rome was anything but holy. He was shocked at the 
irreverence of the priests, who rattled off their prayers in most 



Luther's Visit to Rome. 




Martin Luther. 



Lesson Nineteen — Martin Luther 93 

unholy fashion. They laughed at him for his earnestness and 
mocked at the most sacred things. Luther went back to 
Germany a sadder and wiser man, and understood better for 
the rest of his life how much the church needed reform. 

Tetzel, the Indulgence Peddler. Soon came another expe- 
rience that brought Luther into open conflict with the pope 
and the church. The pope at this time was Leo X, of the 
house of Medici, the old enemies of Savonarola. He was a 
cultured, luxurious, selfish man who cared not a straw for 
real religion. He wanted money for his own use, and to 
finish the great cathedral of St. Peter's. He decided to get it 
by selling " indulgences," through which — so the people 
believed — the purchasers might escape the penalties of their 
sins. The church taught that while forgiveness of sins was 
granted to the penitent, yet this forgiveness did not free the 
sinner from certain penalties, which must be suffered either 
in this life or the next. But through indulgences the church 
claimed to have the power to transfer to men some of the 
superfluous merits of Christ and the saints, and so deliver the 
sinner from these penalties. These indulgences were granted 
to those who made gifts to the church, or did some service 
which rendered them worthy of this consideration. It should 
be remembered, however, that at first indulgences were re- 
stricted to men truly penitent. But this restriction was 
utterly ignored by the men who now began to peddle in- 
dulgences like any other goods that might be offered for sale. 
In 1517 Pope Leo sent a monk named Tetzel into Germany 
for this purpose. He was a man of sinful life and coarse 
speech. He came into one town after another with much 
display, carrying a great red cross with a wreath of thorns, 
and a money box. The cross was set up in the church, and 
then Tetzel would call upon the people to buy his indulgences, 
just as an auctioneer would cry his wares. He told them 
that by buying an indulgence they might escape doing penance 
for their sins. He would even name over various crimes, and 
say, " If you have committed crimes like these, all you have 
to do is to buy an indulgence." He urged them to buy in- 
dulgences for the dead, that they might deliver the soul of 
some dear friend from purgatory, saying, 

" When in the chest the money rings, 
Out of its pain the spirit springs." 



94 Heroes of the Faith 

He even sold indulgences to cover sins that might be com- 
mitted in the future. One nobleman who was much dis- 
gusted with Tetzel got even with him on this point. He told 
Tetzel that he wished to take revenge on an enemy and wanted 
to purchase an indulgence to cover the offense. After some 
haggling, the price was fixed, and the nobleman got his in- 
dulgence with the pope's seal attached. Then he and his men 
waylaid Tetzel as he was passing through a wood to the next 
town, beat him soundly and took his money box from him. 
Tetzel was furious, and had the man brought before the duke, 
but the nobleman produced his indulgence, which covered this 
very act, whereupon the duke laughed and let him go. 

Champion of the Truth. Luther was indignant at these 
barefaced frauds in the name of religion. He preached 
against them openly, and finally posted on the doors of the 
cathedral at Wittenberg a list of ninety-five propositions 
attacking this system of indulgences and challenging any one 
to debate the matter with him. In this he was simply 
following a common custom of those days, when scholars used 
to hold public debates over disputed questions; but this act 
of Luther's was a turning-point in his own career, and in the 
history of the church and of the German nation. It led to 
stirring times before very long. The news spread rapidly, 
and aroused consternation and alarm. Luther was hailed 
by many as the leader for whom they had been waiting; by 
others he was denounced as a heretic, a second Savonarola. 
But he was more than that. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and anything more that you can 
find about Luther, especially about his early life. There are 
many biographies written about him, and you can find plenty 
of information in any public library. 

2. Look up on the map of Germany the location of Eisleben, 
his birthplace ; Eisenach, where he went to school ; Erfurt, 
where he went to the university ; and Wittenberg, where he 
did most of his work. 

3. What difficulties did Luther have to meet in his boyhood ? 

4. What traits of character impress vou most in his early 
life? 



Lesson Twenty — Martin Luther 95 

5. What first brought him into prominence as a Protestant 
reformer ? 

6. What did Luther mean by comparing evil thoughts to 
the birds? 

7. What do you understand to be the meaning of the verse 
from Romans quoted at the beginning of this lesson? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Write at the head of a new page Luther's full name. Paste 
below it a portrait of him (Brown No. 1265; Perry, Boston edition, 
No. 785). 

9. Make a list of the important events in the life of Luther, beginning 
with his birth, giving place and date, and going on with the events of the 
next lesson. Supplement this list with any incidents that you may 
have learned from your own reading. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the following " Morning Blessing " taken from Luther's 
Short Catechism: 

11 I thank thee, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy 
dear Son, that Thou hast preserved me through this night from all 
harm and danger, and I beseech Thee Thou wouldest protect me this 
day from sin and all evil, that all my deeds and my life may be pleasing 
in Thy sight. For I commend. myself, my body and soul, and all, into 
Thy hands. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the evil one may 
have no power over me. Amen." 

The 37th Psalm is one of which Luther was very fond, and in which 
he found great comfort. Vss. 1-8 are especially good to commit to 
memory. 



Lesson 20. MARTIN LUTHER. The Fearless Foe of the 

Papacy. 

11 The kings of the earth set themselves, 
And the rulers take counsel together, 
Against Jehovah, and against his anointed." Ps. 2 : 2. 

In the Thick of the Fight. Luther's bold stand against the 
abuses in the church soon brought upon him the attacks oi 
those whose wrongdoing he was reproving. These men had 
no real defense to make ; they simply accused Luther of being 
a heretic and a rebel against the authority of the church. 
Luther replied by appealing to the Bible as the supreme 
authority, higher than that of the church. At first the pope 
was disposed to underestimate the importance oi Luther's 



96 Heroes of the Faith 

influence and teachings and to make light of the whole affair, 
but finally the Dominicans of Italy got him stirred up to 
active enmity against the brave monk who dared criticise 
him and the church. Luther knew perfectly well the danger 
he was facing. He was not ignorant of Savonarola's martyr- 
dom, and knew that men were calling him a second Savona- 
rola. He knew that John Huss had been burned in Bohemia 
for heresy, but this could not keep him from following the 
course that he felt was right. 

Luther would probably have suffered the fate of Savonarola 
and Huss had it not been for the fact that he lived in Germany, 
and was under the protection of the powerful Prince Frederick, 
elector of Saxony. The pope had no power to put any one to 
death. Capital punishment could be executed only by per- 
mission of the emperor. But the Holy Roman Empire, as 
it was called, had long since lost most of its power, so that 
the emperor himself had to be careful about arousing the 
anger of the princes of northern Germany, lest he lose what 
little power he had left. Many of these princes believed that 
Luther was right, and were ready to defend him by force of 
arms if need be. But notwithstanding these friends, the brave 
monk was in great danger owing to the tremendous influence 
and unscrupulous character of his ecclesiastical foes, who 
would not wait for legal means to destroy him if they could 
only get him into their hands. 

Luther's First Trial. The pope finally commanded Luther 
to appear at Rome to answer to the charge of heresy before a 
judge who had already accused him as a heretic. There 
could be but one issue to such a trial, and Luther, though 
always brave in the path of duty, was not so foolish as to be 
led into a death trap to no good purpose. He and his friends 
insisted that the trial should be held on German soil, and a 
conference was finally arranged with Cardinal Cajetan, the 
papal delegate, at Augsburg. It proved to be no conference 
at all. Cajetan simply demanded that Luther should take 
back all that he had said, without any further argument. 
This Luther would not do, and finding that Cajetan was 
planning to have him arrested, he slipped away by night and 
returned to Wittenberg. 

The Pope's Bull, and its Fate. Luther went on preaching 
and teaching, and the people eagerly listened to his words and 




Lesson Twenty — Martin Luther 97 

read what he published. Finally the pope issued a " bull," 
or order; excommunicating Luther and commanding that his 
books be burned. He would gladly have -burned Luther also, 
but he could not get hold of him. The bull was sent into 
Germany, but Luther called a meeting of " all friends of 
evangelical faith," outside the city wall of Wittenberg, where 
a great bonfire was kindled, and the bull of excommunication 
was publicly burned, together with a copy of the canon, or 
church, law of Rome. By this act Luther placed himself 
in open rebellion against the Roman church, and defied the 
pope. In view of the immense power of the papacy, we can 
hardly imagine now what a bold act this was. 

Luther's Declaration of Independence. The conflict went 
on, the pope ever trying to silence Luther, and Luther growing 
ever more outspoken in his attacks upon the papacy. Finally 
he was summoned to appear before the diet, or imperial 
council, in the city of Worms, there to answer to the emperor 
for his teachings. Many of his friends feared that, in spite 
of the imperial pledge of safe conduct, Luther would never 
reach Worms, or, if he did, would not leave it alive, and they 
urged him not to go. But he replied, " Though there be as 
many devils in Worms as tiles upon the roofs, I will enter. '•' 
The pope really did not want to have Luther appear at this 
council, fearing his influence over the people. Various tricks 
were used to prevent his attending the diet, but they all failed, 
and Luther entered the city in the midst of a great procession. 
He came before the council, a splendid array of princes, 
cardinals, and high officials, most of whom were prejudiced 
or violently hostile to him. " Martin," said the emperor's 
representative, " the emperor hath summoned you thither 
to answer, first, whether you have written these books, and 
others published under your name, and, secondly, whether 
you will recant, or abide by them." 

Luther replied that he had written the books, and asked for 
a day's time in which to prepare his reply to the second 
question. This was granted, many thinking that Luther was 
frightened and that he would recant. As he entered the 
council hall the next day, a famous old general, George von 
Freundberg, touched him on the shoulder, saying, " Good 
monk, you have a fight before you this day, such as neither 
I nor any of my comrades in arms ever had in our hottest 
battles." 



98 Heroes of the Faith 

The council soon found that Luther was not frightened 
nor awe-struck. He replied very clearly that he waS willing 
to be convinced of error, but otherwise he could not retract 
what he had said. 

11 His majesty is not here to hold a disputation," was the 
reply ; " he wants a plain answer without horns." 

''Well, then," said Luther, ''since his imperial majesty 
wants a plain answer, I shall give him a plain answer, but 
deprived of neither teeth nor horns. Unless I be refuted 
from Scripture or by clear argument, I shall recant nothing 
against my conscience." These courageous words aroused 
much excitement, amidst which Luther exclaimed again, " I 
cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me !" 

Luther left the council, and it is thought that from that 
night, which he spent in prayer and devotion, dates that 
magnificent old hymn which has been called the war song of 
the Reformation, Ein' Feste Burg ist unser Gott ("A Mighty 
Fortress is our God"). 

" A mighty fortress is our God, 

A bulwark never failing; 
Our Helper He, amid the flood 

Of mortal ills prevailing. 
For still our ancient foe 
Doth seek to work his woe ; 
His craft and power are great; 
And, armed with cruel hate, 

On earth is not his equal. 

" Did we in our own strength confide, 

Our striving would be losing, 
Were not the right Man on our side — 

The Man of God's own choosing. 
Dost ask who that may be ? 
Christ Jesus, it is He; 
Lord Sabaoth is His name, 
From age to age the same, 

And He must win the battle. 

M And though this world, with devils filled, 

Should threaten to undo us, 
We will not fear, for God hath willed 

His truth to triumph through us. 
The prince of darkness grim — 
We tremble not for him ; 
His rage we can endure, 
For lo ! his doom is sure ; 

One little word shall fell him. 



Lesson Twenty — Martin Luther 



99 



" That word above all earthly powers — 

No thanks to them — abideth; 
The Spirit and the gifts are ours, 

Through Him who with us sideth. 
Let goods and kindred go, 
This mortal life also; 
The body they may kill, 
God's truth abideth still; 

His kingdom is forever." 

A Friend in Need. There were those who would have seized 
Luther and put him to death then and there, but, to the credit 
of the emperor, he would not allow the three- weeks' safe- 
conduct which had been 
given Luther to be violated. 
The friends of Luther 
knew, however, that as 
soon as the three weeks 
were over, and when he 
was once back at home, 
every effort would be made 
to arrest him and bring him 
to punishment. For the 
council had finally placed 
him under the ban of the 
empire — that is, he was to 




The Wartburg. 



be an outlaw, and all were forbidden to give him food or fire 
or shelter. His property was to be taken away from him, 
and his followers punished. On the journey back to Witten- 
berg, Luther stopped at his old home, Eisenach. In a wood 
near the city a band of armed men suddenly appeared, seized 
him and carried him off a prisoner. They were kindly foes, 
however, and Luther soon found himself rather a guest than a 
prisoner at the Wartburg, the great castle which still stands 
upon the crest of the mountain above Eisenach. This plan 
had been adopted by his friend, Prince Frederick of Saxony, 
to conceal him and keep him from his foes. 

Luther Translates the New Testament. During his stay at 
the Wartburg, Luther kept on with his writing and, most 
important of all, began to translate the New Testament into 
German so that all the people who could road at all might 
read it for themselves. He was blamed for tin's, just as Wyclif 
had been for translating the Bible into English, but Luther 
did not mind savage criticism very much by this time. Be- 



100 Heroes of the Faith 

fore a year had passed, he returned to Ywttenberg, feeling 
that things there needed his attention so much that personal 
danger should not keep him away. He had so many friends 
that the sentence of the ban was never executed, and here 
he spent the rest of his life, taking trips every now and then 
to visit the churches. He wrote many letters, rebuking the 
pope, counseling the clergy, advising and even admonishing 
princes. There is not time to tell of the other stirring events 
of the Reformation time, of the peasants' war or the activities 
of the Smalkald League. These you will read of in history. 

Luther started out in the world with the conviction that 
the greatest thing in life is to follow one's conscience and to 
do one's duty faithfully as before God. He lived up to his 
convictions, and became thereby the reformer of the church 
and the champion of the rights and liberties of a whole nation. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Finish your study of the life of Luther in this story and 
other books. 

2. Tell to some one the story of his life in your own words 
and from memory. 

3. What seem to you to be the greatest events in his career? 

4. Do you think that George von Freundberg was right 
when he said that the fight that Luther had before him at the 
Diet of Worms was greater than any of his own battles ? 

5. Which takes the greater courage, to fight with fists or 
weapons, or to stand up for one's honest convictions in the 
face of prejudice or ridicule or hatred? 

6. Does your life at home or at school call for any of the 
kind of courage and heroism that Luther had ; 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Complete the list of events in Luther's life if you have not al- 
ready done so. 

8. Underscore with red ink the events that you think most impor- 
tant, and tell why you choose these. 

9. Add a picture of the Wartburg, or of Eisenach, or some other 
scene connected with the life of Luther, if you can find one. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn A Mighty Fortress is our God. You should also learn the 
music to this, and sing it. Think as you read it of the scene through 
which Luther had passed, and note the meaning that each line must 
have had for him. 



Lesson Twenty-one — Gas par d de Coligny 101 

Learn also Luther's " Evening Blessing," as a suggestion for a good 
prayer to use at the close of the day : 

" I thank Thee, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear 
Son, that Thou hast graciously protected me through this day; and I 
beseech Thee Thou wouldest forgive me all my sins wherever I have 
done wrong, and mercifully guard me this night. For I commend 
myself, my body and soul, and all, into Thy hands. Let Thy holy 
angel be with me, that the evil one may have no power over me. 
Amen." 



Lesson 21. GASPARD DE COLIGNY. The Leader of the 
French Huguenots. 

Born Feb. 16, 1517; died Aug. 24, 1572. 

" Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? 
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, 
And speaketh truth in his heart." Ps. 15: 1, 2. 

An Ill-fated Friendship. Had you been in Paris about 1540, 
in the reign of king Francis I, you might have seen two 
young men who were evidently warm friends. They were 
constantly together, riding through the streets at full gallop 
or strolling quietly in the gardens at evening. At the tourna- 
ments, on the hunt, playing tennis, in all the sports enjoyed 
by the young men of that time, Gaspard de Coligny and 
Francis de Lorraine were comrades and chums. Few would 
have imagined that the day was coming when these two should 
be enemies, leading hostile armies. But their friendship 
was of a kind often seen between natures so different that 
time inevitably leads them apart. Francis was handsome, 
light-hearted, generous, full of life, a favorite with all who 
knew him, but without strong principles. Gaspard was more 
quiet, no less generous, but more steady and self-controlled, 
not so easy to get acquainted with, but a man whom one could 
always trust absolutely. 

Gaspard's Early Training. The Colignys were an old 
and noble family in France, and Gaspard was taught from 
boyhood the meaning of noblesse oblige — that noble birth 
or rank implies the obligation of noble conduct. His father 
died while he was yet a child, leaving his mother with seven 
children to educate and care for. She did her work so well 
that her sons gained from her the generous spirit, strict 
honesty, and moral courage that were marked traits in her 



102 Heroes of the Faith 

character. Their tutor, an earnest Christian and fine scholar, 
taught them to think for themselves, and neither to take 
other people's ideas as always correct nor to repeat words 
like parrots, without thinking what they meant. And so, 
thinking things out for themselves and forming their own 
opinions, they came to have genuine convictions that were 
not so easily changed as were those of many about them. 

A Born Soldier. The way of promotion for a young man 
of noble birth in those days was through the army. War 
was a large part of the nation's business, and the hero of the 
day was the successful soldier. Young Coligny knew that 
this was to be his business, and accordingly he trained himself 
for it. While other young men — including his friend Francis, 
as time went on — were giving themselves up to excesses of 
pleasure, he accustomed himself to severe physical exercise, 
lived a pure and temperate life, and so built up a strong 
constitution that could stand the hardships of military 
campaigns. His advancement was rapid. He distinguished 
himself from the first for bravery, wisdom and coolness. 
Besides this, he showed that he knew how to command men 
and win their respect and obedience. He was given more 
and more important commands until, when only thirty 
years old, he was made commander-in-chief of all the infantry, 
and five years later he was made admiral of France, with 
command of all her naval forces. 

Religious Convictions. Gaspard de Coligny was a devout 
Catholic, like most of his friends, 
but he carried into his religion the 
same habit of thinking for himself 
that he had formed in other things. 
Conditions in the French church were 
much the same as we have found 
that they were in England, Italy, and 
Germany — a great deal of dead for- 
mality with little genuine Christian 
spirit. Especially did the church in- 
sist that men should think and act in 
religious matters as the pope and the 
priests told them to. Many of the 

Admiral Coligny. best men &nd WQmen j n France we re 

beginning to see that this was not right, and were accept- 
ing the reformed faith with^its simpler and purer worship. 




Lesson Twenty-one — Gaspard de Coligny 103 

These Protestants, or Huguenots, as they were called in 
France, were bitterly persecuted, and thousands of them 
were killed in the most cruel manner. In spite of this, 
they increased in numbers at a remarkable rate. Admiral 
Coligny finally became convinced that he too ought to accept 
the reformed faith. He knew that it meant trouble for him, 
the loss of royal favor, fewer chances for promotion and 
honor, with the possibility of persecution and even death. 
But he was convinced that it was his duty, and that settled 
the matter. 

Fighting for the Faith. For long years the Huguenots 
had endured persecution without resistance, but the time 
came when patience seemed no longer a virtue. The best 
of the Catholics also realized that there had been too much 
persecution, but the ambition and spite of Francis de Lorraine, 
who had become duke of Guise, led to still further outrages. 
The Protestant nobles felt that it was time for them to take 
arms and defend their rights, and they turned to the prince 
of Conde and Admiral Coligny as the two men who could 
lead them. Thus began the dreary wars of religion which 
for twelve long years cursed France with civil strife and cost 
the lives of thousands of her bravest and best. There was 
much cruelty on both sides, for the Protestants, goaded to 
desperation by the persecutions of their foes, often retaliated 
in anything but a Christian spirit. Both sides had much 
to learn of the true spirit of Christianity. But Coligny was 
ever the last to enter into civil war, patient to extremes in 
trying to avoid it, and always and ever a fair fighter. His 
worst enemies were never able to convict him of any act of 
treachery. His word was trusted by every one, friend and 
foe alike. He was the first commander France had seen 
who disciplined his troops and tried to keep them from the 
acts of plunder and cruelty that marked the warfare of that 
age. He was a formidable foe, but a chivalrous one. 

It is worth while to read the story of those wars, much 
too long to be told here, that we may get some idea of the 
value of religious liberty. Freedom of conscience is now 
common, but it cost blood and agony to win it, and Gaspard 
de Coligny's name should stand high on the honor roll of 
those Heroes of the Faith whom we have to thank for what 
we now enjoy. 

On one side were two weak kings in succession, Francis II 



104 Heroes of the Faith 

and Charles IX, dominated by Catharine de* Medici, the 
queen mother, and the duke of Guise, all fighting selfishly 
to maintain their own power at whatever cost to the nation. 
On the other side were the Huguenots, fighting for freedom 
to worship God in the way they honestly believed to be right. 
The Protestants secured several treaties granting what they 
asked for, only to have them ignored and broken as soon as they 
had laid down their arms. Finally Coligny forced the king's 
party to sign a treaty with some guarantees, and thought 
that at last the battle was won. He now took up the task 
of helping to restore peace and order, and to build up the 
nation that had been so sorely weakened. He won the con- 
fidence and respect of king Charles, and it seemed for a time 
as if he were to succeed in his patriotic aims. But all this 
angered queen Catharine and the Guises as they saw their 
power and influence slipping away. They determined to 
get rid of Coligny. 

Black Treachery. Honorable means would have accom- 
plished nothing against such a man as the admiral, so they 
adopted treachery, and perpetrated one of the foulest crimes 
that ever stained the history of any nation. They took 
advantage of a time when large numbers of Huguenots 
were in Paris, having been invited there to attend the wedding 
of the king's sister and Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot leader. 
The conspirators first attempted the assassination of Coligny. 
He was fired upon from the window of a house, and badly 
wounded but not killed. The assassin escaped. The king 
flew into a rage and vowed terrible vengeance upon those 
responsible. In desperation Catharine de' Medici and the 
duke of Guise then persuaded Charles that the Huguenots 
were planning another uprising and an attack upon himself, 
and that his only hope of safety lay in having them all killed. 
The weak, cowardly king at length consented, although he 
knew perfectly well that this meant first of all the death of 
the man whom he himself had called the wisest counselor, the 
most faithful friend, and the bravest general of his realm. 

The plans were secretly but quickly made. The houses of 
the Protestants were marked with chalk. The Catholics 
provided themselves with white badges that they might 
distinguish one another in the darkness. Then, on the night 
before St. Bartholomew's Day, the signal was given by the 
ringing of a church bell, and the bloody work began. Admiral 



Lesson Twenty-one — Gaspard de Coligny 105 

Coligny was one of the first victims. The men who had been 
placed about the house where he lay wounded, with the pre- 
tense of guarding him, forced an entrance and slaughtered 
him in cold blood without giving any opportunity for defense. 
His body was thrown out of the window, that the duke of 
Guise, his old friend, might be sure of his death. In their 
cowardly spite the mob heaped all manner of insults upon the 
lifeless corpse. For days the dreadful slaughter continued, 
until most of the Huguenots, especially the leaders, were killed. 
The World's Verdict. Thus died Admiral Gaspard de 
Coligny, one of the noblest men that ever lived in any land. 
He died a martyr to a seemingly lost cause. The pope 
caused the bells to be rung in Rome, and had a special medal 
struck off to celebrate this glorious victory of the Catholic 
church over the heretics. The cruel Philip of Spain also 
greatly rejoiced. But the rest of the civilized world revolted 
in horror and disgust from so dastardly a crime. To-day 
the names of Catharine de* Medici and Charles IX are uni- 
versally despised, while that of Coligny is honored. His 
life was not in vain, for he helped to bring nearer the day 
when religious liberty did become a fact, and when men could 
worship God according to their own consciences. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. In addition to this story, read whatever you can find 
about Coligny or the Huguenots of France. Any history of 
France will give information. Walter Besant's biography 
of Coligny is very interesting. 

2. Find out especially about Coligny's defense of St. 
Quentin, and the Huguenots of La Rochelle. 

3. What traits of character were developed in Coligny 
by his early training? 

4. Who was his closest friend in young manhood, and how- 
did the friendship turn out? 

5. What qualities are most desirable in a friend? 

6. What good quality is most apparent in the character of 
Coligny? 

7. The following stories deal with the times of the Hugue- 
nots: A Cardinal and his Conscience, by Graham Hope; 
For the Religion, and A Man of his Age, by Hamilton Drum- 
mond; Saint Bartholomew's Eve, by Geo. A. Henty; Sister 
Rose, by Emily S. Holt. 



106 Heroes of the Faith 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Head a new page with Coligny' s name, and write a short story of 
his life, bringing in any points that you may have learned from the 
story above, or from other sources. Illustrate it with any appro- 
priate pictures that you can find. 

9. Write at the end of your story the kind of epitaph or inscription 
that you think would be appropriate for a monument to the memory of 
Coligny. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the whole of the Fifteenth Psalm, and note how much of it 
applies to the character of Coligny. 



Lesson 22. JOHN KNOX. " Who Never Feared the Face 

of Man." 

Born 1505 (?); died Nov. 24, 1572. 

" Take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to with- 
stand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand." Eph. 6: 13. 

A Land of Heroic Deeds. Have you read Sir Walter Scott's 
stories about Ivanhoe, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men, 
or Rob Roy, or Kenilworth Castle ; or any of the tales of the 
Scottish Highlanders? If so, I think you must have felt a 
little of that tingle in the blood that comes to every Scotchman 
when he thinks of his native country. For the history of 
Scotland is full of stories of brave deeds and stirring adventure. 
Again and again have her hills and valleys rung with such 
war-cries as that of Black Douglas: 

" Come every hill-plaid, and 
True heart that wears one, 
Come every steel blade, and 
Strong hand that bears one/' 

Too often the clans have been called together to fight for some 
ignoble and selfish purpose, but there have also been those 
who, like the Scottish Covenanters, fought for the highest 
and truest liberty — liberty of conscience ; and the hero of this 
lesson was one of those who helped to inspire the hearts of 
men for this battle. 

Stirring Times in the World. We do not know exactly 
when John Knox was born; probably in 1505, though some 
say 1513, or thereabouts. At any rate, he would hear stories 



Lesson Twenty-two — John Knox 107 

in his boyhood about the fierce fighting between the Scotch 
and English at Flodden Field, and learn to respect the courage 
of his countrymen. Luther nailed up those theses of his, 
that made such a stir, when Knox was very young, and all 
those other heroic deeds in behalf of the Reformation, that 
we have read about, came during the lifetime of Knox. He 
had plenty to stir his mind with high ideals of truth and 
loyalty and nobility of purpose. We shall see what influence 
these things had upon him. While at school at Haddington, 
and during his university life at Glasgow, he was learning 
to think more and more seriously about these great events, 
and of what they might mean for him and for Scotland and 
for the whole world. 

A Church in Sore Need. When we remember how many 
great preachers Scotland has given to the world, it seems 
strange to think that the religious condition could ever 
have been so bad as it was in the boyhood of John Knox. 
The clergy were rich and lazy and corrupt. The priests were 
appointed to their positions by the government, and many 
of these benefices, as they were called, paid large incomes. 
Such positions were openly bought and sold instead of being 
given to those who were really best fitted to act as ministers. 
Quentin Kennedy, a Catholic abbot, unfriendly to Knox, 
frankly describes the situation when he says, " And when 
they have gotten a benefice, if they have a brother or son who 
can neither sing nor say, nourished in vice all his days, he shall 
be immediately mounted on a mule, with a sidegown and a 
round bonnet, and then it is a question whether he or his mule 
know best to do his office." When things get to such a pass 
that people have little better than donkeys to teach them, 
we can imagine how much the people themselves are likely 
to know about God and the higher things of life. 

The Blood of the Martyrs. While Knox was still a youth, 
an event occurred which startled every thoughtful man in 
Scotland. Patrick Hamilton, a youth of royal blood and 
educated for the church, had been to Wittenberg and Learned 
from Luther the ideals of the Reformation, and had accepted 
them. He returned to Scotland and began to teach his 
countrymen the new faith. Decoyed to the castle of St. 
Andrews, on pretext of a conference, he was imprisoned and 
sentenced to be burned alive. Such an act of tyranny, tor 



108 Heroes of the Faith 

no other reason than to prevent men from thinking and 
worshiping God in their own way, made a deep impression 
upon an independent and fearless lad such as Knox was. 
About twenty years later another man, George Wishart, 
was preaching the reformed faith in Scotland, and Knox was 
greatly influenced by his sermons. When it became evident 
that Wishart was in danger of being assassinated, Knox 
attended him as a body-guard, carrying a sword. But the 
time came when Wishart, too, was arrested and put to death, 
and Knox received one more impression that was to make 
him a stern champion and almost fierce fighter for the re- 
formed faith. 

Knox's Preaching. Knox himself had studied for the 
ministry, and had been ordained as a priest. For years 
he was part of the mechanical and unworthy system of the 
Roman church, and taught under its direction in the Univer- 
sity of St. Andrews, but he was ever 
more dissatisfied with it, and finally 
broke with it entirely and declared 
himself a Protestant. And so keen 
was his sense of the unworthiness 
and tyranny of that old system that 
he came to hate it with a deadly 
hatred which also included those 
who remained in it. This fierce 
hatred of a system in which Knox 
saw little good and boundless in- 
iquity, often led him to express 
himself in words that may seem 
unnecessarily bitter and severe. 
John Knox. But they were abundantly justi- 

fied by the cruelties and injustices which were practised in 
those days in the name of religion, and which were apt to 
make even conscientious men stern and hard in their opposi- 
tion to them. Knox preached in the days when people used 
to listen without impatience to prayers two hours long, and 
sermons even longer, and such men must have been of sturdy 
and even stern minds. 

His call came to him in a strange way. A band of nobles 
and others, who, in desperation, had assassinated the cruel 
Cardinal Beaton, who had put to death by torture many 
Protestants, had taken refuge in the cardinal's own castle 




Lesson Twenty-two — John Knox 109 

of St. Andrews, and Knox had gone there with them to be 
the tutor of some young men. Those who heard him teach 
felt that he ought to be preaching to more people, but Knox 
felt that he was not ready to do this. One day in church, the 
minister spoke of the call to the ministry, and then, turning 
upon Knox, told him before all the congregation that he was 
commissioned by the people to call him to preach. Knox 
was dismayed, and burst into tears and rushed from the room, 
but could not escape the sense of duty. He soon began 
preaching, and became known as the greatest preacher in 
Scotland, absolutely fearless in his utterances, often stern and 
harsh, but so sincere that every one who heard him was 
deeply moved. The English ambassador wrote of him, 
" This man puts more life into us in one hour than six hundred 
trumpets blustering in our ears." He was a fiery preacher, 
and preached so vigorously that another said it seemed as if 
he " would ding the pulpit into blads and flee out of it." 
But the thing that gave people the greatest confidence in 
him was that he would rebuke evil in the king or queen or 
the nobility just as quickly as in the humblest subject. 
Indeed, he was more severe on those high in position, as he 
evidently thought they had less excuse than the ignorant 
for their wrongdoing. 

Sent to the Galleys. The castle of St. Andrews was finally 
captured by the French, and aided by the Catholic regent 
of Scotland, Knox and his companions were taken prisoners 
and sent to the French galleys. These galleys were ships 
propelled by many long oars, and rowed by prisoners who 
were chained to their benches and forced to toil under the 
lash of the driver. Knox shared this cruel hardship with 
the others for eighteen or nineteen months. 

During the latter part of his captivity he was seized with 
fever, and all on board the galleys despaired of his life. At 
this time they were off the coast of Scotland, and a friend 
pointed out to him one day the spires of St. Andrews, asking 
if he knew what place that w r as. " I know it well," replied 
Knox, "for I see the steeple of that place where God first 
opened my mouth in public to His glory; and I am fully 
persuaded, how weak soever I now appear, that I shall not 
depart this life, till that my tongue shall glorify His name 
in the same place." He was then so ill that this seemed like 
a rash prophecy, but his faith and courage were destined to 



110 Heroes of the Faith 

be rewarded. In February, 1549, he was liberated from the 
galleys and sent to England, where he was greatly honored 
and where he spent five years rendering most valuable help 
in carrying on the Reformation during the reign of Edward VI. 
Then came the reign of Bloody Mary, and Knox again showed 
his fearlessness by openly rebuking the people for their ex- 
pressions of joy over her coronation, when it seemed only too 
clear that it was an ill event for England and for the true 
faith. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Turn to the map of Scotland in your geography or 
atlas, and look at the general outline of the country. Notice 
how its coast-line is cut up into points and promontories, with 
lochs and firths and rivers running far up inland. Notice, 
too, how the country is covered with mountain ranges. 
These facts explain much of the story of Scotland, for these 
highlands and valleys and watercourses made it possible for 
the clans to maintain their independence and defend them- 
selves against even a superior force, just as the old Greek 
heroes did, or the tribes of Israel. 

2. Find the city of Glasgow on the river Clyde ; then look 
over on the other side of Scotland, and find Edinburgh, on 
the Firth of Forth ; then look for St. Andrews on the pro- 
montory reaching out into the ocean northeast of Edinburgh ; 
and you will have the principal scenes of Knox's life-work. 

3. Read the story, and anything more that you can find 
out about Knox. Try to imagine how you would feel toward 
your minister if, instead of being the kind of man he is, he 
were the kind that Quentin Kennedy describes, and if he 
'were to tell you that, whether you liked it or not, you must 
go to church and worship just as he said, or be punished and 
perhaps killed. 

4. Name some of the events in the history of the Reforma- 
tion in other lands that John Knox must have heard about. 

5. How do you think these things would be likely to affect 
him? 

6. How did he receive his call to preach? What other 
character, of whom you have studied in these lessons, was 
called in about the same way? What is the best way to get 
a call or a promotion to a better place in life ? ■ 

7. What effect did this call have upon Knox at first? 



Lesson Tvjenty-three — John Knox 111 

Do you find anything like this in Ex. 3: 10, 11 ; 4: 10; or 
Jer. 1:6? What made Moses and Jeremiah finally feel that 
they could do the work to which they were called (Ex. 3: 12 
first part ; Jer. 1:8)? 

8. What events most influenced Knox to become a 
Protestant ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write a short story of the early life of Knox, bringing in the 
following things: The religious condition of Scotland, the stirring 

. events in other lands of which Knox must have heard ; the circumstances 
that caused him to become a Protestant, and the experience that 
tested his courage and deepened his feelings of opposition to the 
Roman church. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the First Psalm. 



Lesson 23. JOHN KNOX. The Hero of the Scottish 
Reformation. 

" Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them 
all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay 
thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified 
city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, 
against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the 
priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall 
fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am 
with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee." Jer. 1 : 17-19. 

" 'Tis man's perdition to be safe 
When for the truth one ought to die." 

Fierce Persecutions. The reign of Bloody Mary in England, 
where Knox had gone after his liberation from the galleys, 
was marked by a succession of martyrdoms, the queen being- 
determined to undo the work of Henry VIII and Edward VI, 
and to restore the Roman church to power. Sixty-five were 
burned to death in one year, seventy in the next, the whole 
number of martyrs under her reign being three hundred. But 
two things convinced the people that the Protestants were 
right. One was the cleaner, purer, more unselfish lives thai 
most of them lived ; the other was their courage and firmness 
under persecution. Two of the most distinguished victims were 
Bishop Latimer and Bishop Ridley. As they were fastened 



112 



Heroes of the Faith 



to the stake, Bishop Latimer said, " Master Ridley, play the 
man; we shall this day, by God's grace, light such a candle 
in England as I trust shall never be put out." Another 
victim was Cranmer, who had been archbishop of Canterbury 
but had accepted the reformed faith. During his imprison- 
ment he had wavered, and, in a moment of weakness, had 
signed a paper taking back his teaching against Catholicism. 
But when it came to the last he regained his courage and 
stoutly maintained his belief in the reformed faith. And 
when he, too, was burned he thrust his right hand into the 
flame and held it there steadily, saying, " This is the hand 
that wrote the recantation, therefore it first shall suffer 
punishment." 

Exiled for Conscience's Sake. Many of the Protestants 
in England left their homes and went to Geneva in Switzer- 
land, or to various towns in Germany, and among these was 
Knox. He himself was anxious to stay, even at the cost of his 
life, but the tears and entreaties of his friends finally prevailed 
on him to seek safety in flight. On the continent he lived 
for some years, preaching to the Reformed churches and writ- 
ing letters home to strengthen the faith of those who were 
enduring hardships there. Meanwhile Protestantism was ad- 
vancing in Scotland. Mary Stuart, the queen, was but a child, 

and her mother, Mary of Guise, 
was regent. In order to gain her 
power she had favored the Protes- 
tants, whose numbers had increased 
by refugees from England, and 
matters had reached the stage 
where it seemed safe to call Knox 
home to resume his work there. 




Recalled to Scotland. His com- 
ing soon produced such an effect 
in the strengthening of Prot- 
estantism in Scotland that the 
Catholic clergy were stirred against 
him. He was finally summoned 
to appear before a council at 
Edinburgh, and, to the amazement 
of the bishops, he obeyed the 
summons. They did not expect him to come, and had 
planned to condemn him in his absence. His boldness turned 



John Knox's House, Edinburgh. 



Lesson Twenty-three — John Knox 113 

the tables, the clergy failed to appear against him and the 
accusation was dropped. Soon after thic he was again called 
to Geneva as pastor of the English church there, and so was 
out of Scotland for a number of years. 

Conflicts with the Authorities. When Knox again returned 
to Scotland he found that Mary of Guise, having gained the 
ends for which she had sought the favor of the Protestants, 
had thrown off the mask and was now attempting to crush out 
Protestantism altogether. But the preaching of the reformed 
ministers -against the sins and evil-doing of which even the 
clergy were guilty had wakened a strong response in the hearts 
of the people, and they were not easily intimidated. When 
the archbishop summoned the reformed preachers before 
him at St. Andrews, a deputation of the Protestant nobles 
waited upon the queen regent and told her that if the pros- 
ecution of these men proceeded there would be a greater 
gathering at St. Andrews than Scotland had seen for a long 
time. The queen was alarmed and stopped the trial. Knox 
went about from place to place, preaching with fiery eloquence. 
He was proclaimed an outlaw and a rebel, which practically 
gave permission to any one to kill him. He went on preach- 
ing just the same. His spirit is well expressed in a letter 
written somewhat earlier than this: " Satan, I confess, 
rageth, but potent is He that promiseth to be with us in all 
such enterprises as we take in hand at His commandment. 
And therefore the less fear we any contrary power; yea, in 
the boldness of our God we altogether contemn them, be they 
kings, emperors, men, angels, or devils." 

Soon after this, Knox was invited by the Protestant nobles 
to come to St. Andrews and preach. The archbishop stationed 
soldiers at the church, and served notice on Knox that if he 
entered the pulpit the soldiers would fire upon him. His 
friends tried to persuade him not to risk his life, but Knox 
would not listen. He entered the pulpit and preached with 
all his customary vigor, and there was no interruption. 

Matters soon came to a state of civil war. A price was set 
upon Knox's head, and a reward offered for his arrest or 
death, but this did not stop him in the least. Parliament 
finally met and declared for Protestantism as the form of 
worship to be observed in Scotland. Mary of Guise was 
deposed and after her death a lew months later, Mary Stuart 
came home from France. 



114 Heroes of the Faith 

Knox and Mary Queen of Scots. It was understood that 
Mary, who was a Catholic, should have liberty to worship 
as she chose in private, but that the rights which Parliament 
had established for the Protestants should be observed. She 
had not been long in Scotland, however, before it became 
evident that she intended to overthrow Protestantism if 
possible. When the news of the massacre of Vassy in France 
was received, the queen gave a ball at court. Knox denounced 
this act in a public sermon, and was summoned before the 
queen. She demanded an explanation of the sermon, which 
had been reported to her. Knox replied that if she had 
attended the service of worship, as she should have done, 
she might have heard for herself what had been said, and then 
proceeded to preach the sermon over again to her. As he 
was leaving the conference, he heard one of the attendants 
say with surprise, " He is not afraid." " Why should I be 
afraid of the pleasing face of a gentlewoman?'' he replied; 
" I have looked in the faces of many angry men and yet have 
not been afraid above measure." 

As queen Mary's views became better known the Catholic 
priests grew bolder in their attempt to re-establish the unlaw- 
ful Catholic worship, and some of the nobles in the w^est of 
Scotland took up arms to enforce the laws against them. 
The queen sent for Knox again to protest against this, al- 
though she herself had gone through the form of issuing 
proclamations which were supposed to order just what these 
men had done. Knox upheld the Protestants, and the queen 
finally exclaimed, " Will ye allow that they should take my 
sword in their hands?" " The sword of justice is God's," 
replied the reformer firmly. 

Tried for Treason. Plans for the restoration of Catholicism, 
that had meant so much of tyranny, 'went on, and Knox was 
untiring in his efforts to oppose them. At the demand of the 
queen he was finally summoned before a council to answer 
to the charge of treason. Before the trial came off, every 
effort was made to persuade Knox to plead guilty and to 
throw himself on the mercy of the queen. He saw through 
this plan clearly enough and refused to do any such thing. 
The day of the trial came, and the yard of the palace and 
the avenues leading to it were crowded with people anxious 
to hear the result. Knox appeared before the council and 
with perfect frankness defended himself against the charge of 



Lesson Twenty-three — John Knox 115 

treason, and to such good effect that the vote was over- 
whelmingly in his favor. The queen's secretary was so 
enraged that he asked the queen to come back into the 
council chamber and then called for the vote to be taken over 
again. This attempt at intimidation so enraged the council 
that they voted even more decidedly than before to acquit 
Knox of the charge brought against him. 

Last Days. The struggle went on, but Protestantism kept 
gaining strength all the while. Knox was appealed to on 
every side for counsel and advice. His voice could rally the 
discouraged as no other's could. His life was attempted 
again and again. On one occasion a bullet was fired through 
the window of his room, which must have killed him had he 
not been, sitting in an unaccustomed place. As he grew older, 
and illness laid hold upon him, he would gladly have laid down 
the burdens of leadership, but he never refused a call to duty 
as long as his strength lasted. One of his last public acts 
was to preach a tremendous sermon in denunciation of the 
outrage of St. Bartholomew, the news of which had come 
from France. The French ambassador was present, and 
Knox told him to tell his master, " that cruel murderer and 
false traitor/' that sentence was pronounced against him in 
Scotland, that divine vengeance would never depart from 
him, nor from his house, if repentance did not ensue. The 
ambassador was greatly angered, and tried to have Knox 
suppressed, but in vain. 

Not long after this the end came. John Knox had braved 
perils without number, but died quietly at home among 
friends, with the words of the Bible upon his lips. He was 
buried on November 26, 1572, in the churchyard of St. Giles, 
and as his body was laid to rest, the regent Morton pro- 
nounced his eulogy in these words: " Here lyeth a man who 
in his life never feared the face of man." Carlyle's tribute 
is well deserved: " Honor to all the brave and true; ever- 
lasting honor to brave old Knox, one of the truest of the 
true!" 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. What things had most influence in convincing people 
that the Protestants were right? 

2. Tell some incidents that showed the courage o( the 
reformers. 



116 Heroes of the Faith 

3. In what ways did Knox himself show courage ? 

4. In what ways are boys and girls to-day called upon to 
show the same kind of courage? 

5. What gave Paul the courage to face persecutions and 
trials and hardships? (Rom. 8:35-39.) 

6. How do you explain the fact that Knox's life was spared 
in spite of the many threats made against him, and the dangers 
by which he was surrounded? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Finish your story of John Knox, telling of the incidents in his 
later life, and write a paragraph at the end giving your opinion of him 
as a man. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Rom. 8:35-39. 



Lesson 24. REVIEW OF LESSONS43-23. 

The characters studied during this quarter are all noted 
as reformers, men who saw the evils that existed in the life 
about them, and tried to make things better. Most of them 
contributed to that great movement in European history 
known as the Reformation, by which people were brought out 
from bondage to the Roman Catholic church at a time 
when it had become frightfully corrupt, and enabled to worship 
God as they believed to be right. 

1. Make a list of the characters studied, and the important 
points about them, as follows: Write across the page in your 
note-book the headings of four columns: " Name," " Coun- 
try," " Object of Reform," " Opposed by " ; and under these 
headings write the facts concerning each character. For 
example : 

Name Country Object of Reform Opposed by 

Elijah Israel Baal worship King Ahab and 

and tyranny Queen Jezebel 

2. Answer these questions from memory, writing answers 
in the blank spaces. They are not arranged in the order of 
the lessons as studied. 



Lesson Twenty -four — Revieiv of Lessons 13-23 117 

(/) What does noblesse oblige mean? 

Which of these characters gives a fine 

example of this idea? 

(2) Who said, " Jehovah took me from following the flock, 
and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people "? 



(3) Of what reformer was it said, " He never feared the 
face of man"? 

(4) Who challenged four hundred prophets of a false 
religion to a test of their religion, and with Jehovah's help won 
a great victory over them? 

(5) Who wrote 

" A mighty fortress is our God, 

A bulwark never failing "? 

Do you know the rest of this hymn? 

(6) Who first translated the Bible into English? 

(7) Who was called to preach to his countrymen, and, for his 
loyalty to the truth, was imprisoned and put into the stocks, 
lowered into a cistern, tried for treason, and at last (probably) 
stoned to death by those whom he tried to serve? 

(<?) Who was the heroic leader of the Reformation in Scot- 
land? 

(9) Who helped to save his city from her worst foes, helped 
her to obtain a better system of government, gave nobler 
ideals to her citizens, and was finally mobbed in her streets 
and martyred? 

(10) Of whom was this line written? 

11 The solitary monk that shook the world." 

(11) Who organized the street boys of his city into an army 
for reform? 



118 Heroes of the Faith 

3. Write in your note-book the verse or poem learned 
during this quarter that you like best. 

4. Which of the characters studied do you most admire, 
and why ? 

5. Is there anything in the life about you, at home, at 
school, or on the playground that you think might well be 
reformed ? 

6. What might you or other boys and girls of your age do 
to help make this thing better ? 

" Let us, then, be up and doing, 
With a heart for any fate; 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 
Learn to labor and to wait." 



THIRD QUARTER 



Lesson 25. PAUL. The Persecutor who Became an Apostle. 

Born about a. d. 1 ; died about a. d. 64. 
" I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." Acts 26: 19. 

An Old University Town. If you will look at the map of 
Asia, on the northeast shore of the Mediterranean sea, you 
will see a little river, called the Cydnus, flowing down from 
the north through the province of Cilicia ; and on this river, 
a few miles from its mouth, you will see the city of Tarsus. 




Tarsus. 

The city is very old, and even before the birth of Christ was 
famous for its schools, from which teachers were selected to 
teach the sons of the Roman emperors. It was also a rich 
and prosperous city, and ships used to come up the river to 
its wharves, bringing merchandise from many lands. There 
were fine palaces and beautiful gardens, a great market- 
place, the gymnasium and race-track, and other places for 
the amusement of the people. 

A Boy with a Future. In the Jewish quarter of this city, 
about nineteen hundred years ago, there lived a boy named 
Saul, whom we know better by the Greek form of his name, 
Paul. We do not know the names of his parents, which is 
rather a pity, for they deserve some credit for bringing up a 
boy who accomplished all that Paul did in the world. As a 

119 



120 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

little child he was very carefully taught in the law of the 
Jewish people. First, his mother told him thrilling stories of 
the old Hebrew patriots and prophets, that stirred his heart 
with a longing to be worthy of such an ancestry. Then, 
when he was five years old, his father began the lessons that 
would continue all through his school life, and Paul had to 
learn by heart verse after verse of the books of Moses and the 
traditions and teachings of the scribes. There were hundreds 
of different rules governing almost every action in life, and 
the young Jewish lad had to learn them all, and there was 
hardly anything that he could do from one day's end to another 
without having to think of some rule for it. 

School and College. When Paul was six years old, he was 
sent to school, where he sat upon the floor with the other boys 
while the teacher sat upon a platform at one end of the room. 
In a singsong voice the teacher would repeat some sentence 
and then beckon to the boys to repeat it. Instantly every 
voice would be raised, as the pupils shouted the words that 
the teacher had just spoken. The din would seem like utter 
confusion in a modern school, but this was the way these 
boys were taught, and in this way they learned by heart all 
the books of the law as well as the traditions. When Paul 
was thirteen years of age he was called a Son of the Law, 
which meant that he was supposed to know the law well 
enough to be held responsible for acting in accordance with 
its teachings, and when we remember that there was a rule 
for everything in life, this meant a great deal. Paul had to 
take an examination at the synagogue, and then one day he 
stood up before the people, and one of the rabbis placed upon 
his left arm, near his heart, a little black box of leather with 
two long strips of leather attached. These strips were wound 
seven times around his arm down to the hand, then three 
times about the hand and tied in a knot at the middle finger. 
In this little box were four texts of Scripture that had been 
written with a specially prepared ink, and part of the words 
were: " It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and 
for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of Jehovah 
may be in thy mouth." This phylactery, as it was called, 
Paul always wore when he entered the synagogue, and later 
in life he bound another upon his forehead also. 

In course of time Paul went on from the synagogue school 
to the school at Jerusalem, where he had for a teacher one of 



Twenty-five p au l 121 

the wisest of the rabbis of that time, named Gamaliel, whose 
grandfather Hillel was author of one of the greatest of the 
rabbinical teachings: " What you yourself dislike, do not to 
your neighbor." 

Learning a Trade. While Paul was still a small boy he 
learned the tent-maker's trade from his father. Every 
Jewish boy was obliged to learn some trade in order that he 
might be able to support himself, even though he might not 
expect to follow that trade all the time. Those who were 
studying to be teachers were no exception, for the rabbis 
were not expected to take money for their teaching. One 
of them said, " Use not the law as a spade to dig w r ith " ; and 
another said, " Work is great ; it honors God." So Paul w^ent 
into the weaving shed and learned to weave the strong, 
firm cloth of goats' hair, from which tents w^ere made and for 
which Cilicia was famous. It is likely that his father would 
go away up the valley to the mountains where the shepherds 
had their flocks of goats, and bring back with him great 
bundles of hair, which had to be combed out and spun into 
thread, and some of it dyed red or brown or purple or green 
for the patterns of the tent cloth. Probably Paul accom- 
panied his father on such trips, and had rare times, with all 
the work, tramping over the fields, or fishing in the stream, 
and undoubtedly being hunted now and then by wild animals 
or possibly by wild men as well. 

Of the Strictest Sect of the Pharisees. So young Paul grew 
to manhood, and became a well-trained Pharisee, one of those 
Jews who believed that salvation and peace were to be found 
in strict observance of the law. He was taught, too, that 
others were not quite as good as the Pharisees, and that the 
Gentiles, or those who were not Jews, were really outcasts 
and not fit to associate with. He was taught to believe 
that God had chosen the Jews above all others to receive His 
blessing; that the Messiah who was coming should be a great 
national leader to set them free from Rome, and that any 
who opposed the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees 
were to be punished severely. All this shows why Paul 
joined in persecuting the early Christians. 

Paul and the Christians. As a young man, Paul undoubt- 
edly heard of Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, who, after a 
few years of teaching and gathering about Him a little band 



122 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

of disciples, had been condemned to death and executed by 
the Roman authorities. No doubt he knew that the Jews 
had demanded His death on the charge of treason, although 
the real reason for their enmity was that they considered 
His teaching hostile to that of the scribes, and thaj: they 
thought Him a blasphemer. But now a strange report was 
about, that this Jesus had risen from the dead, and His 
disciples were going about preaching and teaching that this 
was so, and that Jesus was really the expected Messiah, 
and that the rulers of the Jews were murderers for having 
had Him put to death.* And many of the people were believ- 
ing them and being drawn away from the religion of the Jews. 
From what we have heard of Paul's early training we can see 
how all this would affect him. It seemed to him that these 
Christians ought to be put down, and he threw himself with 
all the energy of his nature into that work. He went from 
place to place arresting them, putting them into prison and 
having them killed as heretics. But all the while he could 
not help seeing that these Christians were good people. They 
were industrious, quiet, peaceable, unselfish, good in every 
way except that they did not any longer observe the Jewish 
law in their religious life. And this made Paul think a great 
deal. 

The Persecutor Becomes a Christian. One day he set out 
for Damascus, where many of these Christians had taken 
refuge, intending to hunt them down and punish them. As 
he drew near the city, he undoubtedly was thinking about 
the Christians he had seen martyred and those he was going 
to hunt. Suddenly there came a blinding flash of light, and 
he fell to the ground. He could see nothing, but as he lay 
there he heard a voice as clearly as if some one stood by his 
side, saying, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And 
when he asked, " Who art thou, Lord?" the voice answered, 
" I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." Paul understood 
then that in his mistaken zeal he was really persecuting, not 
the enemies, but the friends of God. He rose to his feet, 
bewildered and ashamed, and, led by his companions, for he 
still could see nothing, he went into Damascus. For several 
days he lay quietly trying to think what this all meant and 
what he ought to do. One of the Christians there came to 
see him and talked with him. Paul recovered his sight and 
determined that he would make good the mistakes of his life, 



Twenty-five p au l ^3 

so far as he could, by giving himself to preaching the Gospel 
of Christ as energetically as he had hitherto opposed it. 
This meant a great sacrifice for him. It meant turning his 
back upon his old friends, giving up the position of power 
and influence which he had in the Jewish church, and sub- 
jecting himself to the danger of such persecution as he himself 
had formerly inflicted on others. But he had become con- 
vinced that this was his duty, and he turned squarely about 
to face it. From this time on he was a different man, and 
this new ideal of life led him into some stirring adventures 
and hardships, as we shall see. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Mr. Robert Bird's Paul of Tarsus is an interesting 
biography of the great Apostle. Read this book if possible, 
and also look up something about Paul and his birthplace in 
the Bible dictionary or encyclopedia. 

2. Find out what you can about Tarsus, and then make a 
list of the things you think Paul would be likely to see and 
do as a boy. 

3. Read Deut. 6:4-9 and find there the words which Paul 
would hear often in the synagogue, and which his mother 
would teach him to repeat. 

4. Did Paul make use of the trade he learned as a boy? 
(Acts 18:3; 20:33, 34; 1 Thes. 2:9.) 

5. What did Jesus think of the way in which the Pharisees 
kept aloof from others? (Lu. 16:9-14.) 

6. What changed Paul from a proud Pharisee into a devoted 
Christian? See the story and read Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-18, and 
ch. 26. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Write a short story of the boyhood of Paul, illustrating it with 
such pictures as seem appropriate. Raphael's St. Paul is a good one. 
Tell the story of Paul's conversion following after his persecution of 
the Christians. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Deut. 6:4-9 and Paul's words before Agrippa, Acts 26: L$ 
Do you see any connection between these two passages? 



124 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 




Lesson 26. PAUL. The Founder of Christian Missions. 

" Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, 
and not to please ourselves." Rom. 15: 1. 

In Danger of his Life. Paul never hesitated a moment when 
his duty was clear. In the very city to which he had come to 
persecute the Christians he now proclaimed himself a convert 

to their faith. In the syna- 
gogue he told the story of his 
experience, and avowed his faith 
in Jesus as the Messiah. He 
soon found himself in exactly 
the same situation as those 
whom he had so lately hunted 
down. Word came that the 
Jews were plotting to kill him, 
and that they were watching 
the city gates to see that he did 
not escape. His friends took 
him by night to a lonely part of 
the city wall and let him down 
on the outside. Away in the 
darkness, a hunted Christian, 
ran he who shortly before had ridden toward that city with 
power from the high priest to hunt down the Christians. And 
yet Paul did not regret the change, nor did he ever cease to 
be glad that he had become a Christian. We cannot here tell 
all the adventures and hardships he had to meet, but we may 
glance at a few scenes, enough to show the energy and resource- 
fulness of this man. 

Foreign Missionary Work. From Damascus Paul went to 
Jerusalem, and there preached his new faith with such boldness 
and power that he soon found that city dangerous, and his 
friends again sent him away, this time to his old home, Tarsus. 
Meanwhile the Christians were finding that the Gentiles 
also received with joy the good news of God's love as Jesus 
had taught it, and Paul was soon called to Antioch, where 
his learning and skill in argument were needed to help per- 
suade the educated Greeks of that city. Thus Paul began 
his career as the Apostle to the Gentiles or, as we should say 
to-day, as a foreign missionary. It was at Antioch in Syria 
that the disciples were first called Christians, the name being 



St. Paul. 

By Raphael. 



Twenty-six Paul 125 

given to them probably as a nickname, in derision. But 
Paul, who was not afraid of being killed, certainly was not 
afraid of being laughed at, and went on with his work. In a 
letter which he later wrote, he said: " I am not ashamed of 
the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation." The 
Christian church at Antioch grew larger and stronger, and 
began to think of sending to others the Gospel that had so 
blessed them. So they sent out Paul and Barnabas as for- 
eign missionaries. 

Adventures Abroad. First they went to Cyprus, then 
across the sea to Antioch in Pisidia. Here they spoke in the 
synagogue with such power as to convince many, but some of 
the Jews there refused to listen. The Apostles then went to 
Iconium, and on to Lystra and Derbe. In Lystra, Paul was 
able to cure a lame man who had been a cripple ever since he 
was born. This so amazed the people that they declared 
the Apostles to be gods come down to earth in human form. 
They even prepared to offer sacrifices to them. But when 
certain hostile Jews from Pisidian Antioch arrived, having 
followed the Apostles from that city, they stirred up a riot, 
and the fickle populace began to stone the Apostles. Paul 
fell, and they dragged him outside the city like some dead 
dog, and left him by the roadside, thinking that he was dead. 
He soon revived, however, and went on to the next city to 
continue the perilous work. 

Scourged and Imprisoned. Paul was to have other oppor- 
tunities of proving his loyalty and courage. At one time in 
Philippi he and Silas, his companion on this trip, found a poor 
demented girl whom the people believed to have the power 
of divination or, as we should say, fortune-telling. Her 
masters took advantage of this delusion and made a great 
deal of money thereby. Paul was able to cure the girl, which 
greatly angered her masters. They dragged the two Apostles 
before the magistrates, who ordered that they should be 
flogged. They were hurried to the whipping post, and, in 
spite of all protests, flogged on the bare back until the blood 
ran. Then they were thrown into a dungeon, probably a 
dark, dismal, underground cave. Their feet were fastened 
in the stocks, thus increasing the discomfort of their condition. 
But this did not seem to discourage them in the least, [nstead 
of bewailing their lot, they passed the time in singing, and 



126 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



the other prisoners listened, wondering. Suddenly there 
came an earthquake. The walls swayed, the stocks were 
broken, the doors swung open, and all the prisoners might 
have rushed out. The jailer came running to the prison in 
great terror, for if his prisoners had gone he would have lost 
his life. Supposing that of course they had escaped, when 
he saw the open doors, he was about to kill himself, when 
Paul cried out of the darkness, " Do thyself no harm: for we 
are all here !" Grateful and amazed, he came in and brought 
the Apostles out of the prison into his own home, washed their 
wounds, and tried to make them more comfortable. Mean- 
while they told him of Jesus until he cried out, " What must 
I do to be saved?" and before the night was over he was 
baptized as a convert to the Christian faith. 

The Magistrates Humbled. The next morning orders came 
from the magistrates to let the Apostles go. But Paul 
decided that these men needed a lesson. They had been 
guilty of a serious violation of the law in having publicly 
beaten two Roman citizens, without trial. If this were 
reported at Rome, they would be very severely punished, 
and they knew it. So Paul returned answer: " They have 
beaten us unjustly and publicly, and w^e are Roman citizens, 
and do they now think to send us away privately? Nay, 
verily! let them come themselves and bring us out." It 
must have been an interesting sight to see these proud magis- 
trates coming down to the prison with fear and trembling and 
humble apologies to the man whom they had so mistreated. 

This was not the only time that Paul's Roman citizenship 
served him well. Some years later, in Jerusalem, the Jews 
stirred up a riot, claiming that Paul had desecrated the temple. 
The Roman soldiers seized Paul, and the captain of the guard 
ordered him to be scourged, hoping thereby to get some kind 
of confession from him. They were tying him up to the 
whipping-post when Paul said to the centurion, " Is it lawful 
for you to flog a Roman citizen without trial?" The officer 
at once sent word to the captain, " Have a care what you do. 
This man is a Roman." Post-haste came the captain to 
know if this were true. He could hardly believe that this 
poor Jew could have gained so great a privilege, one that 
had cost him a great deal of money. " But I am a Roman 
born," replied Paul. He was untied at once, and the captain 
took good care to protect him against the hate of the Jews 



Twenty-six 



Paul 



127 



who were plotting to kill him. He sent him to Cassarea for 
trial before the Roman governor there. Here he was held 
a prisoner until finally he appealed to Cassar, as was his right 
as a Roman citizen. This meant that he must go to Rome, 
and it was to mean other adventures. Before he went, 
however, he was brought before king Agrippa, and delivered 
that splendid defense of the faith which you may read in the 
twenty-sixth chapter of Acts. 

A Stormy Voyage. So it came to pass that Paul took ship 
for Rome. He was in charge of a centurion named Julius, 




Map for Tracing Paul's Missionary Journeys. 

an officer of the Augustan troop. As the voyage proceeded 
he won the respect and confidence of all on board, and the 
time came when they all listened to him and owed their lives 
to his advice. As they went on they encountered stormy 
and contrary winds. They were obliged to run under the 
lee of the island of Crete, and Paul, who was well acquainted 
with these Mediterranean storms, advised that they put up 
for the winter where they were. But the captain advised 
pushing on for a better harbor at the end of the island, and 
the centurion took his advice. A sudden storm came upon 
them and drove the ship from her course. The waves brat 
in upon them, and they lightened the vessel by throwing pari 
of the freight and their spare tackle overboard. Every one 



128 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

gave up hope of ever seeing land again except Paul, who 
declared that the angel of the Lord had come to him in a 
vision, saying that they should be saved. At last, in the 
darkness of the night, they heard the sound of breakers, and 
knew that they were approaching land. They let go anchors 
to keep themselves from being dashed on the rocks. Now 
the sailors turned cowards, and prepared to leave the ship 
and all on board to their fate. They lowered the boat, pre- 
tending that they were going to take an anchor out from the 
bow. But Paul, who had been watching things closely, 
warned the centurion of their purpose, and he ordered his 
soldiers to cut away the boat. Then the sailors had to go 
back to their work. 

The next morning, after throwing all the remaining cargo 
overboard, they hoisted the foresail, cut loose from the 
anchors, and tried to steer the ship on to a sandy strip of 
beach. The bow caught upon a bar, however, leaving the 
stern still in deep water with furious seas breaking over it, 
and the ship began to go to pieces. Nevertheless, all reached 
the shore in safety, some by swimming, some on planks, or 
other bits of wreckage or rigging. 

At Rome. Julius reached Rome at last, and turned his 
prisoner over to the authorities there. He must have given 
a good report of Paul, for he was treated with great considera- 
tion. For two years Paul lived in his own hired house, meet- 
ing his friends, and teaching the Christian faith, until his trial 
before Caesar came. It is not certain whether he was then 
condemned and put to death, or was liberated for a time only 
to be again arrested, when the frightful persecutions under 
Nero broke out during which thousands of Christians lost their 
lives. But in whatever way he died, nothing could alter 
the facts of which he wrote to Timothy: " I have fought the 
good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 
henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Besides the story, read Acts 11:19 — 28:31, and some of 
the sketches in Mr. Bird's Paul of Tarsus, if possible. 

2. What may Paul have thought of when he was being 
stoned at Lystra? Does Acts 7:57 — 8: 1 suggest anything? 

3. Trace on the map the missionary journeys of Paul as 



Twenty-seven J k n Eliot 129 

narrated in Acts. About how many miles did he travel? 
Remember how few conveniences for travel they then had. 

4. What did Paul think about the hardships he had to 
meet? Read 1 Tim. 1:12-16. 

5. Did Paul ever regret having forfeited his position of 
power and influence for the sake of Christianity? Judge 
from Phil. 3:7,8; 4:10-13. Philippians was written when 
he was an old man in prison. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Give a brief outline of the later events of Paul's life after his con- 
version, and tell more fully about the scene or incident that most in- 
terests you. 

7. Write a short paragraph giving your judgment of Paul's charac- 
ter. What seem to you the most significant traits in his character ? 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the great classic of Paul's writings (1 Cor. ch. 13), in which he 
gives the motive that inspired his life. 



Lesson 27. JOHN ELIOT. First Preacher to the Indians. 

Bom 1604; died May 20, 1690. 

" God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that 
feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him." Acts 
10:34, 35. 

" Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, 
Who have faith in God and Nature, 
Who believe that in all ages 
Every human heart is human, 
That in even savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
For the good they comprehend not, 
That the feeble hands and helpless, 
Groping blindly in the darkness, 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
And are lifted up and strengthened: — 
Listen to this simple story." 

So Longfellow sang in his Song of Hiawatha, that we all 
come to love as children. And this is the story of a man who 
had such faith in God and Nature and in human hearts that 
he was willing to take a great deal of pains, and endure a great 




130 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

deal of hardship, in order to teach men more about the things 
for which they were longing and striving without knowing 
very clearly what they wanted. 

A Country Pastor. A good many years ago, while the New 
England colonies yet belonged to England, John Eliot came 
from England to America to find some place where he could 

worship according to his conscience, 
and teach what he thought was true. 
He became pastor of a little church 
in Roxbury, Mass., now a part of 
Boston. He was an earnest, hard- 
working minister, noted for his great 
generosity, his peace-loving spirit, 
and his devotion to his people. He 
was so generous that ' he sometimes 
gave away what he really needed for 
his family and himself. Once the 
treasurer of the church gave him his 
John Eiiot^" salary tied up in a handkerchief. 

From a print, copyrighted by Foster Knowing how generous the good man 

was, the treasurer tied the money up 
very tightly, thinking that thus Mr. Eliot would be sure to get 
home with his salary. But on the way the minister called 
upon a widow whom he found in destitute circumstances. He 
at once took out the handkerchief and began pulling at the 
knots. They would not come untied, whereupon he handed 
the whole thing over to her, saying, " Here, take it, the Lord 
evidently intends that you should have it all." 

Mr. Eliot's love of peace was quite as great as his generosity. 
Once he was asked to meet with some other ministers to talk 
over a matter about which there had been a dispute. He 
came into the room, and settled the whole quarrel by picking 
up the package containing all the correspondence about the 
dispute and throwing it into the fire. He was a man who had 
a clear conscience. A friend once spoke to him about heaven, 
and Eliot said, " Were I sure to go to heaven to-morrow, I 
would do as I do to-day." 

Indian Neighbors. On the hills about Roxbury there lived 
a great many Indians. Much of the land still belonged to 
them, though the whites had obtained possession of large 
parts of it. There were five great nations, or sachemships: 



Twenty-seven J k n Eliot 131 

Pequots, Narragansetts, Pawkunnawkuts, Pawtucketts, and 
Massachusetts. Many of our names of places are derived 
from these Indians, as we see. These Indians were wild, 
fierce in warfare, ignorant and untaught. The men were 
idle, for the most part, while the women toiled hard. They 
painted their bodies with bright colors, and adorned them- 
selves with feathers and shells and the teeth and claws of 
animals. When ill they called their medicine men, who 
performed various incantations and rites to drive away the 
evil spirits. They believed in a Good Spirit, " Tantum," 
and many evil spirits, " Squantum." These evil spirits 
lived in the streams, the trees, the flames of the camp-fire 
and almost every object of nature. We can imagine how full 
of fear life must have been to one who imagined an evil spirit 
seeking to possess him at any time. And yet these Indians 
had many noble traits of character. They were dignified, 
quick-witted, keen and alert. They have been called the 
11 natural-born gentlemen of America." 

Eliot Visits the Indians. John Eliot made up his mind that 
he ought to do something for these ignorant savages. But 
first of all he had to learn their language. More than that, 
they must be taught to write their own language, for there 
was no alphabet, no grammar. It was a spoken language 
only. That would seem like a hard piece of work, but what 
do you think of attempting such a task with a language that 
had words in it like " Weetappesittukgnssunnookwehtunk- 
quoh," or " Kummogokdonattoottammoctiteaongannun- 
nonash," the nearest he could find for catechism? When 
his New Testament was finally translated it was called 
" Wusku Wuttustamentum Nut Lordumnum Jesus Christ 
Nuppoquohwussuaeneunun." How would you like to study 
that at school? Eliot simply says, " I found out a ready- 
witted man who pretty well understood our language: him 
I made my interpreter. By his help I translated the Com- 
mandments, the Lord's Prayer, and many texts of Scripture, 
I diligently marked the difference of their language and ours, 
and when I found the way of them, I would pursue a word, 
a noun, a verb, through all the variations I could think of." 
The secret of his success may be found in the words that 
he wrote at the end of his Indian grammar: " Prayers and 
pains, through faith in Jesus Christ, will do anything." 

S 



132 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Waban the Chief. Eliot finally learned enough of the 
language to begin preaching, and met the Indians at the 
wigwam of Waban, one of the chiefs. His text was Ezek. 
37:9: " Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four 
winds, breath [or "wind"], and breathe upon these slain, that 
they ma}' live." Now Waban means wind, and it seemed to 
this chief that Mr. Eliot was speaking directly to him. He was 
greatly impressed, and at night sat long before the camp-fire, 
talking with his people about what they had heard. They 
asked Mr. Eliot manv questions: <; What makes the thun- 
der?" "What makes the tide rise and fall?" " What 
makes the wind blow?" " Does God understand the Indian 
language?" " Can He hear us when we pray?" " Is it too 
late for the Indian to find God?" One chief arose with quiet 
dignity and said, " I have all my days been paddling in an old 
canoe, and now you exhort me to leave my old canoe, which 
I have been hitherto unwilling to do ; but now, I yield myself 
to your advice, and enter into a new canoe, and do engage 
myself to pray henceforth to God alone." 

Hardships and Perils. Mr. Eliot often had to travel hard 
roads through the forests. He once wrote: " I have not 
been dry night nor day from the third day of the week unto 
the sixth, but so traveled, and at night pulled off my boots, 
wrung my stockings, and on with them again and so continue. 
But God steps in and helps. I think of 2 Tim. 2:3." Some 
of the chiefs were hostile. The powwows, or medicine men, 
opposed him, and his life was often in peril. Some of the 
whites misunderstood him and suspected him of unworthy 
motives, and this was even harder to bear. But he persevered 
until he saw many Indians Christianized, and a number of 
them serving as preachers. Villages were established for 
the " praying Indians." The women learned to spin, and to 
make baskets and blankets, etc. The men learned to farm 
and build fences and raise crops. They made laws for them- 
selves, some of which are more strict than we ourselves make. 
For example : " Whosoever shall steale anything from another 
shall restore fourfold." Some laws show their particular 
temptations, as, " Whosoever beats his wife shall pay twenty 
shillings." 

The Indian Wars. There came a time of setback and harm 
to this work when the Indians and the whites went to war 



Twenty-seven J h n Eliot 133 

with each other. There was wrong on both sides. The 
Indians were fierce and treacherous; the whites were often 
as fierce and unjust. But the " praying Indians " had a 
hard time of it during these wars. The other Indians hated 
them and called them traitors ; the whites distrusted and often 
abused them. Mr. Eliot came in for his share of the distrust 
and abuse, but worst of all for him was it to see his friends 
oppressed and driven back into savagery when he had worked 
so hard to bring them out. But his work was never entirely 
undone. The Indians have been driven back farther and 
farther as the white men have advanced, until now in large 
portions of the country all that remains to remind us of 
their former ownership is Indian names like Massachusetts, 
and Mississippi and Minnesota and the like. The history of 
our dealings with them has much in it of which the white 
man, with his greater knowledge and privilege, may well 
be ashamed, but we have improved somewhat, and societies 
like the American Missionary Association and others have 
tried to carry on the work that John Eliot began, educating 
and Christianizing these red men of America. Many of them 
are at Hampton Institute, the school founded by General 
Armstrong, and others are at Carlisle and other schools in 
the west. And they are all God's children. As Longfellow 
wrote : 

" Gitchie Manito, the mighty, 
The creator of the nations, 
Looked upon them with compassion, 
With paternal love and pity." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and anything else that you can 
find about John Eliot. Refresh your mind on what you have 
learned in United States history about the early colonial 
days in and around Boston, and about the Indians. 

2. What were the chief traits in Eliot's character? 

3. Name some illustrations of each of these traits of charac- 
ter. 

4. What led him to undertake the work among the Indians p 

5. What difficulties had to be overcome ? 

6. What was the result of his work? 

7. What is being done for the Indians to-day in the way 
of education and missionary work ? 



134 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



8. What is being done by your own church in this line of 
work? 

9. Where do most of the North American Indians live 
to-day ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

10. Write a short story about John Eliot, telling the things that 
you think show most clearly the kind of man he was, and the work he 
did. 

1 1 . Make a list of the things that are now being done for the Indians 
of America, and mark with a cross any of these in which you think you 
can help. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the motto at the head of this lesson, Acts 10: 34, 35. 



Lesson 28. WILLIAM CAREY. The Shoemaker who Be- 
came " The Father and Founder of Modern Missions." 

Born Aug. 17, 1761; died June 9, 1834. 

" Expect great things from God; 
Attempt great things for God." 

An Observant Lad. If you had been living when the 
Declaration of Independence was being thought of in our 
country, and had visited a certain room in the English village 
of Paulerspury, you might have thought you had come into 
a naturalist's museum. You would have seen insects stuck 
up in every corner, birds hopping about in cages, flowers and 
plants in the windows, and signs on every side that the owner 
of this room loved all the wild things of field and forest. This 
was the room of William Carey, the son of a poor weaver in the 
village who had become schoolmaster and parish clerk. The 
family lived in the schoolhouse, and William had his own 
room, which he filled with the spoils of many a long tramp 
and risky climb amongst the lanes of Whittlebury Forest. 
Few boys have ever lived who were more hungry for knowl- 
edge. He loved books that told about nature, and books 
that helped him in the study of language. When he was 
twelve years old he had mastered the short Latin grammar, 
having memorized nearly the whole book. Later in life he 
learned Hebrew by borrowing books and asking questions 



Twenty-eight William Carey 135 

of neighboring ministers. He found a Dutch book in an old 
woman's cottage, and mastered that language so that he 
could translate from it into English for older scholars. He 
learned French in three weeks from a French theological 
work. 

Hard Work and Good Grit. Young Carey had, of course, 
a remarkable gift for language, but he had something better 
still — the ability and willingness to work hard, and to persist. 
He never abandoned anything that he seriously undertook. 
Once, in attempting to climb a tall tree, he had a bad tumble 
and many bruises. The very first thing he did after the 
soreness was better was to go at that tree again. Difficulties 
seemed simply to spur him on to harder work ; he never 
allowed them to discourage him. He showed the same spirit 
in games and sports, of which he was very fond, and was 
liked by all the boys for his good nature and his grit. At 
seventeen he was apprenticed to learn the shoemaking trade, 
an occupation which is remarkable for the large number of 
great and good men that have worked at it, and William 
Carey was not one of the least of these. 

Struggles with Temptation. As a boy, Carey was not a saint. 
He tells of his struggle with the sin of lying, to which he was 
rather strongly addicted. On one occasion when his master 
allowed him to go out to collect Christmas boxes, or donations, 
from the tradesmen with whom the master had dealings, 
an iron merchant gave him a shilling. After he had collected 
a few shillings he went to buy some articles for himself, and 
found that this shilling was counterfeit. He paid for his 
purchases with a shilling of his master's, and then found that 
he had not enough money left to replace it. Years afterwards, 
describing his feelings, he says: 

" I expected severe reproaches from my master, and there- 
fore came to the resolution to declare strenuously that the 
bad money was his. I well remember the struggles of mind 
which I had on this occasion, and that I made this deliberate 
sin a matter of prayer to God as I passed over the fields 
towards home ! I there promised that, if God would gel me 
clearly over this, or, in other words, help me through with the 
theft, I would certainly for the future leave off all evil prao- 
tices; but this theft and consequent lying appeared to me 
so necessary, that they could not be dispensed with. A 



136 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



gracious God did not get me safe through. My master sent 
the other apprentice to investigate the matter. The iron- 
monger acknowledged the giving me the shilling, and I was 
therefore exposed to shame, reproach, and inward remorse, 
which preyed upon my mind for a considerable time. I at 
this time sought the Lord, perhaps much more earnestly 
than ever, but with shame and fear. I was quite ashamed to 
go out, and never, till I was assured that my conduct was not 
spread over the town, did I attend a place of worship.' ' 

He was also rather given to pride and to despising the Dis- 
senters, or those who did not worship according to the customs 
of the Established Church, to which he belonged. But he 
himself became a Dissenter later on, and was completely 
cured of the false pride that had marked his earlier years. 

Becomes a Preacher. After William Carey had really 

become interested in personal re- 
ligion he frequently used to preach 
when the opportunity was open, 
and before long he was asked to 
preach regularly for the church in 
his native village. He finally be- 
came a regular minister, although 
he was so desperately poor that he 
had to eke out his scanty salary by 
making shoes. He also tried keep- 
ing school as another means of earn- 
ing money. These were years of 
extreme hardship, such as would 
surely have discouraged any one but 
a man who had been accustomed 
to fight his battles through as William Carey did when a boy. 

The Missionary Idea. About this time Carey read with 
great interest Captain Cook's Voyages of Discovery. His 
imagination was fired with the thought of the multitudes of 
people in these far-off lands, and his sympathy for their 
ignorance and misery was aroused. The idea of foreign mis- 
sions took increasingly strong hold upon him. At that time 
there not only was no foreign missionary society organized, 
but many in the church even thought that the heathen had 
no right to the Gospel. But William Carey felt about this 
just as he had about climbing trees, and had no idea of being 




William Carey. 



Twe'i 



Twenty-eight William Carey . 137 

discouraged or turned aside from his purpose. He read all 
he could find about the peoples of foreign lands, and learned 
their needs. A friend found on the wall of his cobbler's 
shop a great map, made by pasting several sheets of paper 
together. On this Carey had drawn in ink a place for each 
foreign nation, and in that space had written all the facts he 
had gathered about that people. He urged the cause of 
missions at every possible opportunity, at ministers' meetings 
and other public gatherings, and finally in 1792, through his 
intense zeal, " The Particular Baptist Society for Propagating 
the Gospel among the Heathen," now the " Baptist Mis- 
sionary Society," was formed, and took for its motto the 
words at the beginning of our lesson. 

The First Missionaries. A certain Mr. Thomas, who had 
been in India and had done missionary work there, was then 
in England trying to raise funds for a mission in Bengal. 
The Society agreed to send him out and to find a companion 
for him. Carey at once volunteered to go with him. India 
seemed to them like some great mine, deep and dark, and 
Carey said, " I will venture to go down, if you at home will 
hold the ropes." The first difficulty to be met was that of 
getting permission from the British government to go to 
India and settle there as missionaries. A permit could not 
be obtained, so they went in a Danish ship. Then followed 
more difficulties, one after another. They were terribly poor, 
and it was necessary to find some spot where they could 
settle, cultivate the ground and support themselves. This 
they finally discovered in the jungle-lands, a spot infested 
by tigers, but fertile. Carey's wife was ill and half-demented ; 
Mr. Thomas was lacking in tact and good judgment, and 
his mistakes cost them friends and supporters ; there were 
fever and hunger and hard work and all kinds of difficulties 
to meet, but they were all so many more trees for Carey to 
climb. He finally obtained a position in an indigo factory, 
which for a time solved their financial difficulties. 

A Land of Darkness. In the meantime Carey found that 
he had not overstated India's desperate need of the Gospel. 
The religion was one of gross idolatry, mixed with many 
frightful superstitions. The Hindu mothers were taught 
to sacrifice their firstborn children by drowning thorn in the 
sacred rivers, throwing them to the sharks or crocodiles, or 



138 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



hanging them upon the trees to be eaten by white ants. Girls 
were given in marriage while still children, and if the husband 
died the widow was despised and doomed to a life of misery. 
For this reason many widows preferred to be burned alive 
with the bodies of their dead husbands, and Carey saw this 
done. There were many heathen shrines to which crowds of 
natives made pilgrimages, and thousands died every year 
from disease and exposure. The people were poor and igno- 
rant, and did not know how to support themselves. 

Great Achievements. Carey threw himself with his usual 
energy into the task of meeting all this misery and sorrow. 
He lived forty- three years in India, and during that time 
built up a great mission with schools, a college of high rank, 
a printing office, a paper manufactory, and many other 
activities. He became a professor in the government college 
at Fort William, and trained many young men who afterward 
helped to reform the government, just as Verbeck did later 
in Japan. He became famous as a botanist, and established 
a wonderful botanical garden at Serampore. He taught the 
natives better methods of agriculture, introduced machinery, 
and studied their languages and reduced them to a system; 
in fact, he did a little of almost everything, and did it all w T ell. 
One of his greatest feats was the translation of the Bible into 
the native languages. Thirty-six different translations, in 
whole or in part, were made by this untiring worker, and it 
should be remembered that in most cases he had first to write 
out a grammar of the language before he could work in it. 
Most of these languages were not printed, few of them even 
written. Many of them did not have words to represent the 
ideas which the Bible teaches. Special type had to be cast 
for each new language, paper had to be made that the insects 
would not eat, and then, when all this work w r as at its height, 
and the results of years of patient labor were about to be 
realized, there came a fire which destroyed the mission build- 
ing, the printing office, the precious manuscripts, type, and 
large stores of paper. The labor of years vanished in a night. 
What would you have done in the face of such misfortune? 
William Carey looked over the ruin, prayed to God for faith, 
and began to climb the tree again. 

It is sad to think that his heroism and devotion were not 
always appreciated, and that he had to contend, not only with 
the difficulties of the work itself, but with suspicion and opposi- 



Twenty-eight William Carey 139 

tion on the part of the government of England, and many 
even in the missionary society itself. But he gave a splendid 
example of the way a Christian should conduct himself under 
such circumstances, always patient, self-controlled, firm in 
his insistence on the right, and never giving up. He died 
honored and loved by all, and held in grateful memory by 
those whose lives he made more noble. But, best of all, his 
work has resulted in the founding of many missionary societies 
now at work all over the world trying to help answer the 
prayer that Jesus taught us : 

" THY KINGDOM COME. 
THY WILL BE DONE, 
ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story carefully and find out anything else you 
can about Carey and his work. A short life of Carey by J. B. 
Myers will help you. 

2. How did the interests and pursuits of Carey's boyhood 
help to fit him for his life-work ? 

3. What things did Carey accomplish in his work for India ? 

4. Name some of the permanent results of his life-work in 
the world. 

5. Find out what you can about India to-day, and the need 
for continued missionary work there. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Write a short story of Carey's life. 

7. Make a list of the foreign lands in which your denominational 
missionary society is working. Mark with a cross any of these in 
which your own local church is specially interested. If your church 
supports a foreign missionary, write down his name, the field where 
he works, and the amount that your church gives for his support. 

8. It will be a good exercise for the class to get a large outline map 
of the world and mark on it the places where their denomination has 
mission stations, with some fact of interest about each, as for example. 
the number of missionaries there, the number of native Christians, etc. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the hymn From Greenland's ley Mountains, which will be 
found in almost every church hymnal. 



140 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Lesson 29. ADONIRAM JUDSON. Father of American 
Foreign Missionary Enterprise. 

Born Aug. 9, 1788; died April 12, 1850. 

" These are they that come out of the great tribulation." Rev. 
7:14. 

A Heroic Couple. In the summer of 1813 a man and his 

wife landed on the shores of India, feeling about as lonely as 
two people very well could. They had left America with 
several others, as missionaries of the first American mission- 
ary society. They landed with no society behind them, 
thrown upon their own resources in a foreign land, among a 
strange people and facing tremendous obstacles. They were 
Adoniram Judson and his wife, Ann Hasseltine Judson, the 
story of whose adventures is as full of heroism as any in the 
history of the world. 

A Promising Youth. Adoniram Judson 's father was always 
convinced that his son would be a great man. The boy 
learned to read when he was only three years old. When he 
was. seven he was told that the earth was round and moved 
about the sun. The question as to whether the sun moved 
at all occurred to him. Instead of asking .any one, he wanted 
to find out for himself, if possible. His father found him 
some time later lying flat on his back in a field, his hat over 
his face with a hole cut through the crown through which he 
was observing the sun. His eyes were swollen and half 
blinded with the heat and intense light, but he told his sister 
that he had solved the problem. Just how he did it, she 
never knew. 

One day he found a riddle in a newspaper. The editor had 
challenged any one to find the answer. Adoniram went at 
it and never stopped until he had found the answer. His 
written answer fell into his father's hands, and he bought 
the boy what he called a book of riddles. Adoniram found 
that it was an arithmetic. He went at these riddles with 
energy and soon had solved them all. He entered Brown 
University a year in advance of his class, graduated with 
highest honors, and then set out to " see life." For a time 
he was rather reckless, but was sobered by the sudden death 
of a college friend, and soon after entered Andover Theological 
Seminary, to study for the ministry. 



Twenty-nine 



Adoniram Judson 



141 



Decides to be a Missionary. Becoming impressed with the 
great need of the people in heathen lands, he decided to give 
himself to the missionary service. There were four other 
young men in Andover who had come from Williams College. 
They had organized a missionary society there, and used to 
meet at night under a haystack. These young men made 
known their desire to go as missionaries, and this led to the 
formation of the first foreign missionary society in America, 
the American Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions. Jud- 
son was sent to England to see if 
the London Missionary Society 
would co-operate in the support of 
this work. The vessel on which 
he sailed was captured by a French 
privateer, and he was taken to 
Bayonne, France. He could not 
speak French, and so could not 
explain that he was an American 
and not English, but as he was 
marched through the streets to 
prison he kept shouting loudly in 

English and finally attracted ' the Adoniram judson. 

attention of an American gentleman, who afterward suc- 
ceeded in getting him set free. Thus Judson had a slight 
sample of what he might expect in his foreign missionary 
experience, but this did not frighten him in the least or 
deter him from his purpose. The thing that did sometimes 
trouble him was the ambition to be great that his own father 
had encouraged. But it occurred to him one day that 
genuine goodness was after all the best kind of greatness, and 
this thought never left him. 

A Change of Views. Only a few days before setting sail for 
India, Mr. Judson was married to Ann Hasseltine of Bradford, 
Mass. On the long voyage they studied carefully the question 
of baptism. They were to meet Dr. Carey and other Baptist 
missionaries, and wished to be prepared to defend their own 
views, should argument arise. Much to their surprise, they 
became convinced that the Baptist view was correct. This 
put them in a very embarrassing position. They fell that 
they could no longer conscientiously obey their instructions 




142 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

to baptize the infant children of believing parents, yet to 
refuse and to separate themselves from the Society that had 
sent them out would subject them to much criticism and 
would leave them without support in a strange land. How- 
ever, there was but one honorable thing to do, and they did 
it. Mr. Judson resigned his position as a missionary of the 
American Board and trusted God for the result. The first 
great result was the formation of the Baptist Foreign Mission 
Society, and the sending out of more missionaries. 

More Troubles. More difficulties awaited them in India. 
British India was still under the control of the East India 
Company which opposed the coming of missionaries. The 
Judsons were forced to leave British territory, and they 
finally settled in Burma, which was then independent and 
ruled by a despotic and cruel king. Their journey thither 
was made in a small, dirty and unseaworthy vessel. Mrs. 
Judson was seriously ill, and the weather was so stormy that 
it was impossible to give her the quiet that was absolutely 
necessary to her recovery. The captain finally told them 
that they were being driven upon the Andaman Islands, 
and that the only way of escape was through a passage so 
narrow and dangerous as to make their chances very poor. 
But they entered the passage in safety and immediately 
found smooth water and the quiet that saved Mrs. Judson's 
life. 

The Land of Burma. The missionaries now found them- 
selves in a land four times as large as New England, a fertile 
country, with beautiful rivers and forests and mountains. 
But the people were poor, ignorant, and oppressed. Their 
king was an absolute monarch who ruled according to his 
slightest whim. He had counsellors, but appointed them 
himself, and, if they ventured to cross him in argument, he 
was quite likely to silence them by picking up a spear and 
trying to kill them. Sometimes he succeeded. The land 
was full of wild animals. Tigers often entered the very 
streets of the villages and carried people off. Children had 
to be careful in their play lest they run on to a poisonous 
centipede or deadly cobra hidden in the bushes of the garden. 
The Judsons once occupied a house that Mrs. Judson nick- 
named " Bat Castle," on account of the swarms of bats that 
inhabited it, the noise of whose wings was like the sound of 



Twenty-nine Adoniram Judson 143 

thunder at night. The government was oppressive, punish- 
ments and the treatment of prisoners very cruel, as Mr. Jud- 
son later discovered. The people were Buddhists, and their 
religion was mingled with various foolish and degrading 
superstitions. They believed that the souls of men after 
death entered into the bodies of animals. One old woman 
whose son had died thought that she recognized his voice in 
the bleating of a calf. She threw her arms about the animal, 
bought it and cherished it most tenderly until its death. 
Life was a dreary round of existence to them, and the best 
idea they had of heaven was that of Nirvana, by which they 
meant an end of all life. The best thing they could hope for 
was that the soul as well as the body should pass out of exist- 
ence so that they could not take the form of some animal. 

Life and Work in Rangoon. The Judsons settled at Ran- 
goon, which, as you may see on a map of Burma, is at the 
mouth of the Irrawaddy River, a place where many people 
pass back and forth in trade and commerce. The work before 
them would have seemed almost hopeless to any one of less 
courage and faith, but they went at it bravely. The first 
task was to learn the language, then to translate tracts and 
passages of Scripture and books of the Bible. A chapel was 
built, and here Mr. Judson used to sit on the veranda reading 
in a loud voice from the Bible until some one was sufficiently 
attracted to stop and talk with him. Sometimes a little 
group would gather, and he would preach to them. Six years 
of such work went on before a single convert was secured, so 
far as they knew. Then a few more were gained, and hope 
began to rise. Then the governor threatened persecution, 
and so great was the fear of the natives that they dared not 
come to the chapel for instruction. Every one of them knew 
that to accept the Christian religion meant to run the risk of 
losing all their property and being tortured to death in the 
most dreadful manner. Still Mr. Judson did not lose his 
faith or courage. He made up his mind that he would go up 
the river to Ava, gain an audience with the king and there 
boldly ask permission to carry on his work as a Christian 
missionary. He accordingly applied to the governor for a 
pass " to go up to the golden feet and lift up his eyes to the 
golden face," and permission was given. A boat was pur- 
chased, a present was prepared for the king, consisting oi a 



144 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Bible in six volumes, covered with gold leaf and enclosed in a 
rich wrapper, and he set out on a journey that was to lead 
him eventually into perils and hardships of which he had had 
but a glimpse thus far. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story, and find out whatever else you 
can about Mr. Judson and about Burma. The American 
Baptist Foreign Mission Society, Boston, can furnish you with 
leaflets that will give information about Mr. Judson and the 
work in Burma. At the public library may be found books 
on India that will also give information about Burma. 

2. What led to the formation of the first American foreign 
missionary societies? 

3. How did Mr. Judson show his high sense of honor and 
truthfulness ? 

4. How did his action in this matter lead to an enlarge- 
ment of the missionary work ? 

5. What difficulties did the Judsons have to meet at the 
beginning of their work in India ? 

6. What have you learned about Burma and the need for 
Christian missionaries there ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK., 

7. Write at the top of a new page the names of Mr. Judson and his 
wife. 

8. Write a short story of his boyhood, mentioning any incidents that 
you think had influence on his later life. 

9. Write a paragraph about his going as a missionary, and another 
about his first experiences in India. 

10. Illustrate your story with pictures of Mr. Judson and his wife 
and scenes in Burma, if you can find them. The American Baptist 
Foreign Mission Society, Boston, can send you some. They have a 
series of Orient Pictures which cost one cent each, in lots of twenty- 
five or more. Some of these are on Burma. Draw an outline map of 
Burma, and locate on it the places mentioned in this and the next 
lesson. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Is. 6 : 6-8, in which the prophet Isaiah tells about his own call 
to be a minister. 



Thirt v Adoniram Judson 145 

Lesson 30. ADONIRAM JUDSON. The Apostle to the 

Burmans. 

" Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, 
or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
. . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through 
him that loved us." Rom. 8:35, 37. 

A Dangerous Voyage. The missionaries' journey to Ava 
was a perilous one. Their way led through a country infested 
by robbers, and they had to tie up for one night at a point 
where, but a few days before, a boat had been attacked and 
several people killed. They were offered escorts at some 
places, but declined, feeling that the escorts would be about 
as bad as the robbers themselves. Added to these dangers 
was the suspense and uncertainty concerning their reception 
by the monarch. They were going on an errand which might 
decide the entire fate of the mission in Burma. The king 
might receive them graciously and grant them the protection 
they sought. On the other hand, he might have them put to 
death or, at best, drive them from the country and undo 
all the work that they had so heroically toiled for. They 
could only pray and hope for the best. The result was a dis- 
appointment. The king received Mr. Judson and listened to 
his request, but declined to grant the desired permission to 
preach the Gospel, or to promise any protection for natives 
who might change their religion. With heavy hearts they 
returned to Rangoon, thinking that they must abandon the 
mission there and go to Chittagong, which was under British 
protection. But to their surprise, the little band of native 
converts at Rangoon stood firm and declared that they were 
ready to take the risk if the teacher would stay and work 
among them. The Judsons decided at once that they would 
stay. 

In Royal Favor. Some time after this another missionary 
came from America, Dr. Price, who attracted much attention 
because of his medical skill. The king heard of him and sent 
an invitation for him and Mr. Judson to come to Ava. The 
way was thus unexpectedly opened for the pushing of the 
mission work in the capital city. The church at Rangoon 
by this time numbered eighteen, and they went on bravely 
with their work. The party arrived at Ava, the Judsons 
built themselves a house in two weeks in a climate where the 



146 Heroes of the Faith Less ™ 

temperature stood at 108 degrees in the shade, a girl's school 
was started, and for a time it seemed as if their hopes were 
to be realized. 

War and Imprisonment. But in the course of time war 
broke out between Burma and Great Britain. Enemies 
spread the report that the foreigners were in league with the 
British, and one day soldiers came to the Judson's home and 
seized Mr. Judson. In spite of the entreaties of Mrs. Judson, 
he was bound with small cords drawn so tightly as to cause 
intense pain, and driven away to prison, there to begin an 
experience of nearly two years which was enough to kill any 
ordinary man. The prison to which he was taken was called 
Let-ma-yooii, meaning " hand shrink not," and the name was 
given it because of the horrid deeds of cruelty practised 
there, from which it was thought that even the hardest hand 
might well shrink. The prison house was a long, low shed, 
which became a veritable furnace in the hot tropical sun. 
It had never been cleaned, and was crowded with miserable 
prisoners, very few of whom ever left it alive. Each prisoner 
was chained with two to five or more pairs of iron fetters, 
riveted on the ankles and connected by a chain so short as 
to make walking almost impossible. At night their feet 
were confined in stocks, or they were strung up on long bam- 
boo poles passed between the feet and inside of the fetters, 
then hoisted up so that the victim hung by his feet with only 
the back and shoulders resting upon the ground. Even this 
was mild compared with the torments that some of these 
poor wretches had to bear, and while the foreigners were 
spared these worst tortures, it was almost as bad for a sen- 
sitive man like Mr. Judson to witness them being practised 
on others. Finally they were taken from this prison and 
driven barefooted over eight miles, to a place called Oung- 
pen-la, over roads so burning hot under the fierce sun that 
their feet were absolutely raw. Then they were put into 
a prison even worse than the first. They learned later that 
they had been sent there by the commander-in-chief of the 
army to be sacrificed, and were only saved from this fate by 
the sudden fall from favor of this cruel officer, and his execu- 
tion. 

A Loyal Heroine. Meanwhile Mrs. Judson. alone and un- 
protected in the midst of these cruel men, was making every 



Thirt v Adoniram Judson 147 

effort to secure the release of her husband, or at least the 
lightening of his sufferings. Her loyalty and courage and 
quiet dignity won for her the respect and admiration of some 
even among these savage men, and protected her from harm, 
even though she could not get all the favors that she wanted, 
and some of the Burmese officials treated her very harshly. 
She finally did gain permission to remove Mr. Judson to a 
little hut where she could bring him food, and care for him 
in an attack of fever, and then came his sudden removal to 
this other prison, Oung-pen-la. She immediately set off 
after them, accompanied only by her native cook, two little 
Burman girls, and her baby, then only three months old. 
Part of the journey had to be made in a Burmese cart, with 
no springs, over a rough road and under a burning sun. When 
brave Mrs. Judson arrived at Oung-pen-la, and saw the utter 
wretchedness of the place, she was nearly disheartened, but 
bravely rallied her strength and began to see what she could 
do to help her husband. The next thing that came was 
small pox, attacking the children, then Mrs. Judson herself, 
and after this came the spotted fever, a disease nearly always 
fatal to foreigners. And yet in the midst of all this we find 
that Mr. Judson was thinking more about the prospects of 
finally winning Burma for Jesus Christ than of what might 
happen to himself. 

Relief at Last. Meanwhile the English army was gaining 
victory after victory, and steadily advancing upon the cap- 
ital of Burma. Mr. Judson was finally taken from prison 
and sent to the Burmese camp to act as interpreter and trans- 
lator, but as soon as they were through with him he was sent 
back to prison. At last the time came when the king was 
forced to make terms with the British general. The liberation 
of the prisoners was made a part of the contract, and Mr. 
Judson was set free. 

There is an interesting story connected with this release. 
After peace had been declared, the British general invited a 
number of the Burmese officials to a dinner. When they were 
ready to sit down there was a moment's delay, and then the 
general came in with Mrs. Judson on his arm and seated her in 
the place of honor. The officials were in a panic at seeing this 
woman whom they had so cruelly treated, when she had 
begged them for her husband's life, now honored by the 



148 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

general who had them all in his power. The general re- 
marked to Mrs. Judson, " These men seem to know you, but 
judging from their looks you cannot have treated them well." 
Mrs. Judson replied, " Perhaps they are thinking of the way 
in which they treated me when I walked through the burning 
heat to entreat them for Mr. Judson's relief," and she told 
the story of her experiences. Expressions of indignation 
broke from the lips of the English officers, and the Burmese 
officials sat there covered with cold perspiration, thinking 
what would happen if the situation Avere reversed and they 
had in their power one who had treated them so. 

Back at Work. I imagine that most of us, after such an 
experience as the Judsons' would have taken the first ship 
back to America. They went right to work again for Burma. 
Although often urged to come home on account of his health, 
Mr. Judson declined, saying that he had too much to do for 
these poor heathen. Mrs. Judson died while he was away 
on a mission for the English government. He himself had 
to meet fever and ague and hardship. After eight years he 
married again, the heroic widow of another heroic missionary, 
Dr. Boardman, and finally, on account of the illness of this 
wife, consented to go to America. But she died on the way 
and was buried at St. Helena. Mr. Judson was received 
with great honor in America, but shrank with modesty from 
all praise and public notice. As soon as possible he sailed 
again for India, to push on his work of preaching the Gospel 
to the Burmans. 

Last Years and Great Results. This is but a very little part 
of the thrilling story of Adoniram Judson's life-work. There 
is not space here for more, but we must take a glance at what 
he did. When he first went to Burma he said that if he could 
live to see a church of one hundred converts he would die 
happy. But at his death over 7,000 Burmans had been 
baptized and many more converted, 63 churches had been 
established, and 163 missionaries, native pastors, and assist- 
ants were at work. He had translated the entire Bible, had 
completed the English-Burmese part of a great dictionary, and 
nearly completed the Burmese-English part. More than this, 
he had been the means of forming the great American Baptist 
Foreign Mission Society which, in 1909, had established 
2,491 churches, with 637 missionaries, 6,974 native helpers, 



Thirty-one Marcus Whitman 149 

and 274,959 church members in foreign lands. God allowed 
Adoniram Judson to see the work of the Lord prospering in 
his hands. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read this story, and continue the study about Judson's 
work in such other books as you may be able to find. The 
Life of Adoniram Judson, by his son, Edward Judson, is the 
best story of his work published. 

2. In what ways did Mr. and Mrs. Judson show their 
courage and loyalty ? 

3. How was their faith in God rewarded? 

4. Name some of the things which Mr. Judson accom- 
plished by his work in Burma. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Continue your sketch of Mr. Judson's life, telling also something 
of Mrs. Judson's heroism. 

6. Read 2 Cor. 11 : 18-28, and make a list of the things that both the 
Apostle Paul and Mr. Judson had to meet for the sake of Jesus Christ. 

7. Write a short paragraph telling what you can about the present 
needs of mission work in Burma, and what has been done there. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Paul's song of triumph (Rom. 8:31, 35, 37-39). 



Lesson 31. MARCUS WHITMAN. Pioneer, Missionary 

and Patriot. 

Born Sept. 4, 1802; died Nov. 29, 1847. 
" Even so run; that ye may attain." 1 Cor. 9:24. 

The Great Northwest. The map of the United States in 
your geography shows, in the northwest corner of the coun- 
try, three great states, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. A 
hundred and twenty-five years ago this territory was un- 
divided and practically unknown. The United States made 
no claim to its ownership or to any lands bordering on the 
Pacific Ocean. It was inhabited only by wild beasts and 
hardly less wild savages. In 1792 a famous American sailor, 
Capt. Robert Gray, in his good ship Columbia, was cruising 
along this coast with articles for trade with the Indians, 



150 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

when he noticed a difference in the color of the water, indicat- 
ing the presence of some large river flowing into the ocean. 
Cautiously feeling his way with the sounding line, he crossed 
the bar and discovered the great river which he named after 
his vessel, the Columbia. Other explorers followed, par- 
ticularly an English captain, Vancouver, whom Captain 
Gray told about the river, and wiio sailed several miles farther 
up. Both England and the United States laid claim to the 
country on the ground of these and other discoveries, though 
neither country pushed its claims very vigorously for some 
time. 

The Fur Hunters. After the discoverers came the fur 
hunters, who occupied the country, buying furs of the Indians 
and sending out their own trappers for skins which they 
sold at great profit in England and other lands. The largest 
and strongest company of fur hunters was the Hudson Bay 
Company, an English concern who managed to keep the 
territory pretty much to themselves, although the agreement 
between the United States and England provided that the 
land should be open to the people of both nations while the 
claims of each were unsettled. 

The Visit of the Indians. Many of these explorers and 
trappers were Christians and they told the Indians something 
of their religion and of the white man's Bible and his Sabbath. 
One tribe in particular, the Nez Perces, wished to know 
more and, in 1832, five of their chiefs took the long journey 
over the Rockies to St. Louis, to ask for the Bible and for 
teachers to instruct them in the Christian faith. Four of 
them reached St. Louis, where they were hospitably received 
by General Clarke, who knew their tribe and language ; and 
their visit was made as pleasant as possible, but their main 
desire was left unsatisfied. At last it was time for them to 
return. Only two were left, two having died in St. Louis. 
One of these made a pathetic and dignified farewell speech, 
in which he said: "My people sent me to get the white 
man's Book of Heaven. I am going back the long, sad trail 
to my people of the dark land. You make my feet heavy 
with burdens of gifts, and my moccasins will grow old in 
carrying them, but the Book" is not among them. When 
I tell my poor blind people, after one more snow, in the big 
council, that I did not bring the Book, no word will be spoken 



Thirty-one . Marcus Whitman 151 

by our old men or by our young braves. One by one they 
will rise up and go out in silence. My people will die in 
darkness, and they will go out on the long path to the other 
hunting grounds. No white man will go with them, and no 
white man's book will make the way plain. I have no more 
words." 

The Appeal Answered. This speech was translated and 
published in the East, with the question, " Who will go 
beyond the Rocky Mountains and carry the Book of Heaven ? " 
The call reached the heart of Marcus Whitman, and soon 
he and his bride started on a long and toilsome wedding 
journey to the far Northwest. It was no pleasure trip. 
With horse and wagon, or sleigh, they made their way from 
Elmira, N. Y., to Pittsburg, Pa., then by steamer to St. 
Louis and to Liberty Landing in western Missouri ; then 
again with teams to Fort Laramie. Here the fur hunters 
had usually left their wagons, but Dr. Whitman was deter- 
mined to take his through. They pushed on, struggling 
through the timber, across swollen rivers, up over rocky 
roads that would have been impassable to any one with 
less grit and perseverance. Once they narrowly escaped 
being trampled to death by a vast herd of stampeded buffaloes, 
that swerved aside just in time, and passed them with a 
noise like thunder. The wagon was repeatedly upset, once 
in the middle of a river. They finally had to take off two 
of its wheels and make it into a two-wheeled cart. But Dr. 
Whitman never gave up, and at last brought it through. 
On the fourth of July, 1836, they stood on the crest of the 
Rocky Mountain ridge at South Pass, and there reverently 
took possession of the Pacific slope in the name of God and the 
United States. On July 6 they arrived at the rendezvous 
where the mountaineers, trappers, and Indians met once a 
year to trade, and where for the time being they were at 
peace with each other. Here Dr. Whitman was advised to 
leave his wagon, but he persisted in taking it on, in spite of 
every obstacle. Experienced mountaineers said that it 
could not be done, but he did it. The men of the mountains 
also said that women could never get through with that 
terrible journey, but Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding did 
that also, though Mrs. Spalding was ill most of the way. 
They were the first women to cross the Rocky Mountains, 



152 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



and this feat had much to do with saving the country to our 
nation. 

Mission Work. At last they reached the coast, where 
they were enthusiastically welcomed, and soon established 
their mission a few miles from the present city of Walla 
Walla. They were joyfully received by the Indians, and 
began at once to teach them to sow and plant and build 
homes for themselves, and in other ways to adopt the habits 
of civilization. This was quite different from the policy 
that had been followed by the Hudson Bay Company, whose 
officers wanted to keep the Indians wild so that they would 
be more ready to go out after furs for them. The mission- 
aries also taught the Indians to read the Bible, to love and 
serve God and to help their fellow men, instead of hunting and 
killing them. 

Patriotic Work. Dr. Whitman was not only a good 
Christian, he was also a good American citizen. He soon 
saw that the real question of ownership of this great, rich 
territory would be determined by the people who actually 
came there to settle and to live. The Hudson Bay Company 

did not want settlers. They wanted 
to keep the country to themselves for 
the purposes of hunting and trap- 
ping, for they were growing tremen- 
dously rich out of their monopoly of 
this business. They had therefore 
spread the report that Oregon was a 
wild and desolate land, fit for nothing 
but hunting, and they did all in their 
power to exaggerate the dangers and 
difficulties of reaching it, especially 
from the United States. But as 
the Americans kept coming, they 
saw that they were likely to lose 
their hold on the country entirely, 
and so began to encourage immi- 
Meanwhile the two governments 
were discussing the question of ownership and trying to settle 
the question by treaty. Dr. Whitman saw that the United 
States was in danger of trading off her claims upon this 
valuable territory for a song, simply because the people in 




Marcus Whitman. 

From " How Marcus Whitman Saved 
Oregon." 

grants from Canada. 



Thirty. one Marcus Whitman 153 

the East did not know its value. He determined therefore 
to go East and do what he could to open their eyes. The 
situation was critical and demanded haste. So in the fall 
of 1842, with Gen. Amos L. Lovejoy and a guide he set off 
to cross the mountains and carry his message and appeal for 
Oregon. 

A Great Undertaking. It was a fearful journey. They 
had to cross the mountains in the winter time, in the face of 
terrible storms and deep snows. Once they became lost in 
the snow, the guide gave up, and they found their way back 
to the sheltered ravine where they had camped last only 
through the sagacity of the mule that led the train. There 
General Lovejoy waited to rest the animals, while Dr. Whit- 
man went back to Fort Uncumpagra for another guide. 
Then on they pushed to the Grand River to find it frozen 
for two hundred feet from either shore, with two hundred 
feet of rushing torrent between. The guide said, " We 
cannot cross. It is too dangerous." Dr. Whitman said, 
" We must cross." He mounted his horse, made them push 
him off the ice, and disappeared beneath the icy torrent. 
But he came up, swam his horse across, broke the ice on 
the other side, and helped his horse out. Then the other 
two came over. He simply would not accept anything as 
impossible. One night they reached a tributary of the 
Arkansas River. It was intensely cold and they must have 
firewood. On the other side of the river there was plenty; 
on their side there was none. The doctor took the axe, lay 
down on the thin ice which covered the swift stream, snaked 
himself across, cut the wood, slid it over the ice and got 
back in safety. 

A Plea for Oregon. And so, by sheer determination, 
Whitman reached St. Louis and went on to Washington. 
He was in time. The Oregon question had not been settled. 
He saw the Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, and President 
Tyler. Mr. Webster said that Oregon was not worth quibbling 
over, and at any rate not worth it to the United States, 
for there was no wagon road over the mountains by which 
emigrants could go with their goods. Whitman replied, 
" Mr. Secretary, there is a wagon road over those mountains, 
for I made it myself, and I have the wagon now." President 
Tyler promised Dr. Whitman that he would hold up the 



*54 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Oregon question until he should learn the outcome of the 
emigration which Whitman proposed to lead back there 
the next spring. That was all that Dr. Whitman wanted. 
After a hurried visit in the East, he went back to St. Louis 
and found a party of a thousand people ready to start for 
the Northwest. He joined them, and again went through 
that heroic struggle against tremendous odds, multiplied by 
the greater number of those to be helped and encouraged 
and cared for. But they won out, and as that great com- 
pany descended the western slope of the Rockies, Whitman 
knew that Oregon was won for his country. 

A Tragic Fate. Dr. Whitman returned to find that things 
had not gone altogether well during his absence. Some 
half-breed Indians and others had stirred up trouble. Some 
of the Indians who had not accepted Christianity had become 
restless and disliked being urged to work, and being told of 
their sins. They grew impudent and even threatening. 
Dr. Whitman was warned by friendly Indians that he had 
better leave for a time, but he could not just then. At last, 
in November of 1847, the mission station w r as attacked by 
the Indians, under the lead of an ungrateful Canadian Indian 
whom the doctor had repeatedly befriended, and Dr. and 
Mrs. Whitman and twelve others were cruelly massacred. 

A Fruitful Life. But in spite of this tragic end, the life of 
Dr. Whitman was rich in its results. It was undoubtedly 
the largest single force in saving to our country that great 
northwest territory, and it gave the impetus to Christian 
education which noAV centers about Whitman College, estab- 
lished as a monument to his heroic life and work. And it 
has left for every one of us a splendid picture of what can 
be accomplished by the man who will, especially when he 
is inspired by the love of God and country and fellow men. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the story and anything else you can find about 
Marcus Whitman and the early days of Oregon. The Log 
School House on the Columbia, by Hezekiah Butterworth, 
is a story whose scene is laid in this time. How Marcus 
Whitman Saved Oregon, by C. W. Nixon, is interesting, 
especially chs. 3-7, 11, 13-15. 



Thirty-one Marcus Whitman 155 

2. Upon what did the United States base her claim to 
Oregon ? 

3. Why was she in danger of losing this territory? 

4. What led Whitman to go to Oregon ? 

5. Tell something about his journey and its hardships. 

6. How long does it take to reach Oregon to-day ? 

7. What part did he have in saving the territory to the 
United States? 

8. What most impresses you in his character? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write a short story about Dr. Whitman and his work. 

10. On a map of the United States trace Whitman's journey from 
Elmira, N. Y., to Pittsburg, Pa., thence by steamer down the Ohio 
River, up the Mississippi to St. Louis, and then up the Missouri to 
Liberty Landing, Clay Co., Mo. ; thence by land to Fort Leavenworth, 
Kansas, and to Fort Kearney on the Platte River in Nebraska; then 
following the North Platte River to Fort Laramie in what is now 
Wyoming; from there to Fort Hall on the Snake River in S. E. Idaho; 
then following the north side of the Snake River about three hundred 
miles, crossing the river and journeying N. W. to Walla Walla; thence 
by the Columbia River to Vancouver, and back to Walla Walla. 

Get a map of the territory he worked, and paste it in your book. 
A railroad folder will furnish one about the right size. 

11. Write down the results that have grown out of Whitman's work. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the motto at the head of this lesson, and the following lines 
from a poem that was read at the dedication of the Whitman monu- 
ment : 

"But one there was who came in peace and zeal, 
To lift the cross and guide the conquering wheel, 
His sword the naming truth, his sign the cross, 
He counted all but faith as empty dross; 
Fair was that noble form, and fairer e'en his bride — 
Whitman, who dared for Oregon to ride, 
Who saved an empire, and a martyr died." 



156 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



Lesson 32. WILLIAM TAYLOR. His Preparation for a 
World-wide Mission. 

Born May 2, 1821; died May 18, 1902. 

" We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God 
were entreating by us : we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye recon- 
ciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:20. 

A Preacher who Won his Congregation. A farmer was clear- 
ing some forest land at Red Holes, in the mountains of Vir- 
ginia. He had chopped down his trees, cut them into great 
logs fifteen feet long, and invited his neighbors from miles 
around to a log-rolling bee. They gathered with their hand- 
spikes and went to work rolling the big logs together and pil- 
ing them into heaps where they might be burned. It was a 
task requiring considerable strength and no little skill, and 
there was plenty of friendly rivalry to see who could pull logs 
the fastest and get the most done. While they were at work 
a stranger rode up to the edge of the clearing, hitched his 
horse, climbed the fence, and, without saying a word to any 
one, picked up a handspike and went to work. No one knew 
him, but, as they watched the strength and skill with which 
he rolled those big logs into the place where they were wanted, 
there were plenty of guesses as to who he might be. When the 
work was over, the stranger called out: " Men, the young 
preacher that the bishop has sent to preach in your circuit 
has come and is to speak at the chapel to-night. Get through 
with your supper as soon as you can, and come out to hear 
him." " Are you sure he is here?" asked some. " Oh, yes, 
there is no doubt about that." " Can a fellow who rolls logs 
like you be the preacher?" was the next question. " Come 
along and see," was the reply. The men concluded that he 
must be the man, and they also concluded that they wanted 
to hear what a man who could beat them at their own work 
would have to say in the pulpit. So William Taylor, the 
young Methodist preacher, had a crowded house at Red Holes 
that evening. 

A Son of Hardy Stock. He came of good stock. His grand- 
parents were Scotch-Irish, and his grandfather and four 
brothers came to Virginia in time to help the colonies win their 
independence in the Revolutionary War. His father, Stuart 
Taylor, and his mother, Martha Hickman Taylor, were sound, 
sensible folks, who were well educated for their time, and 



Thirty-two William Taylor 157 

much in advance of their neighbors in the qualities of thrift 
and resourcefulness. William Taylor inherited these traits 
of character and developed them throughout his own life. 
His parents were Presbyterians for many years, but rather 
formal in their religious life. His father was deeply stirred 
by the preaching of a Methodist revivalist, and later joined the 
Methodist church, with his family. 

Boyhood Experiences, William Taylor was a lively young- 
ster, with his full share of mischief. His grandmother once 
took him to a wool-picking, where he met another boy of about 
his own age. As they were not big enough to help with the 
wool, they strolled out by the creek to hunt snakes, then into 
the barn, where they found some young kittens. Picking them 
up, the boys walked quietly into the room where the women 
were piling up the clean, white wool, and dropped the kittens 
into the pile. They left very hurriedly, while the women had 
a great time trying to untangle those squealing kittens from 
the mess. 

But with all his fun, William was not vicious, and was 
scrupulously honest. Once, when returning from a camp- 
meeting, they had to pass a tollgate on a road which Mr. Tay- 
lor traveled so often that he paid a certain lump sum per year 
for himself and all his family. A certain lady of whom 
William had always thought highly, and who was a member of 
their church, asked him to ride her horse and let her take his 
place in their wagon, so that she might escape having to pay 
the eighteen cents toll. He immediately replied, " Why, I 
can't do that, it would not be fair." 

An Itinerant Preacher. Young Taylor determined to be- 
come a preacher. In those days the young ministers of the 
Methodist church were usually set to work as itinerant 
preachers. That is, they were sent about from place to place 
on a circuit instead of preaching in one church. They usually 
traveled on horseback, and often met with amusing and some- 
times exciting adventures. Mr. Taylor was used to roughing 
it, and always took what came in the day's work without 
complaint. Some one gave the following description of him 
at this time: " He is muscular and bony, tall and slender, 
with an immense pair of shoulders. The man who cut his 
coat ought to be sent to the penitentiary and sot at hard labor 
until he learns his business, and as for the pants, all 1 have to 



158 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

say is that a pair of the widest-toed boots I ever saw were 
stuck about six inches too far through. But he is tremen- 
dously in earnest, preaches with power both human and divine, 
and can sing as loud as he likes." 

Sturdy Independence and Common Sense. Taylor's prin- 
ciple in life was not to worry about where he might have to 
work, but to take what came and do his best. He was never 
afraid of hard work, nor did he care what people thought 
about him so long as he was doing his duty the best he knew 
how. He was appointed junior preacher of a wealthy and 
fashionable congregation, and a friend advised him to go to a 
tailor and have a new suit of clothes made. " But," said 
Taylor, " I have a new suit on." " I know that," was the 
reply, " but they are not in the fashion, and people will be 
apt to laugh at you." Taylor knew that he could not afford 
to pay for a new suit just then, and he certainly did not wish 
any one to give one to him, so he replied, " Thank you for 
your kindly advice, but I shall have to go as I am. If people 
do not like the cut of my mountain clothes, they will have to 
look the other way." He wanted people to judge him by his 
work and character, rather than by the clothes he wore. 

To California with the Gold Seekers. In 1846 he married 
Anne Kimberlin, who proved a loyal and brave helper to him 
through all the years of their life together. Soon after his 
marriage, he was called to go to California as a missionary. 
The country was then beginning to attract many on account 
of the discovery of gold, and it was important to have mis- 
sionaries there. In those days the journey to California was 
so hard and long that they took farewell of their friends with- 
out any expectation of ever seeing them again. The Taylors 
went by ship from Baltimore around Cape Horn. It took 155 
days to make the journey. At Valparaiso, the only port at 
which they landed on the way, they received the bad news 
that California was a land of anarchy, that neither life nor 
property was safe, and that the only preacher who had gone 
there had been killed by the miners, put into a barrel, and 
marked " Beef." They found that most of this was untrue, 
but at the time they had no reason for doubting it. How- 
ever, it did not cause them the slightest hesitation. 

The Early Days in San Francisco. They found the actual 
conditions rough enough. San Francisco in 1849 was a city of 



Thirty -two 



William Taylor 



159 



tents and huts. Men had come in mad haste to get rich, and 
had not stopped to build good houses. Fortunes were made 
in a single day, and often lost as quickly. The gambler's pas- 
sion was strong, and many a poor fellow saw the gold that he 
had slaved for with pickaxe and shovel disappear into the 
pockets of the gambler who lived by preying upon other men. 
Mr. Taylor had been sent out by the society in the East with a 
provision of $950 for his year's expenses, and found himself 
now in a city where prices were enormous. Beef cost fifty 
cents a pound, apples fifty cents 
apiece, butter two dollars and a half 
a pound, eggs fifty cents each, and 
so on. And yet in spite of this, 
William Taylor managed to build 
himself a better house than most 
men had, cutting his own timber on 
the mountain side, and inside of a 
year he had found a way to support 
himself without asking for more 
help from the missionary society. 
At the very beginning of his mis- 
sionary work he adopted the princi- 
ple of self-support for which he and 
his missions later became famous. 
He was an independent spirit and would not be under obliga- 
tions if he could help it. 

Preaching in the Streets. William Taylor was soon at 
work preaching. He had no fine church building to preach 
in, and he probably would not have gained many hearers if 
he had possessed one. He went after his audience, and took 
them where he could find them. He would go down to the 
wharves, where men were at work, or he would take his stand 
on some street corner, often in front of a gambling saloon, and 
begin to sing. His powerful voice soon attracted a crowd, and 
then he would begin to preach. He never minced matters. 
but spoke straight to the consciences of men, telling them of 
their sins and pointing out the way of salvation and peace. 
He was quick to seize every opportunity to make his truth 
plain. One day a prisoner was led to the chain gang. ' Look 
at that poor fellow, " cried Taylor. " How gladly would he 
kick off that chain and be free ! Yet he is no more a prisoner 




William Taylor. 



160 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

to-day than you are, under the chains of sinful habit, in the 
hands of your keeper, the devil." A man once tried to make 
a disturbance and interrupt the meeting. " See here, my 
friend," said Taylor, " when did you arrive?" " About two 
weeks ago," was the answer. " I knew by your actions," 
said Taylor, " that you had just come, and had not learned 
how to behave yourself. You seem to think that we are a 
set of heathen here in California, and that you can cut up as 
you please. Let me tell you that all classes here respect the 
preaching of the Gospel, and the fellow who disturbs a 
preacher in the exercise of his duty may expect even the 
gamblers to give him a licking." 

Saving Men. Taylor's courage and earnestness made him 
respected and loved. He went into the city hospital where 
men were ill and dying away from home and friends and often 
cruelly neglected. He visited men in their shacks and tents, 
he talked with them on the streets, rode long miles through 
swollen rivers and over mountains, all for the sake of saving 
men from their sins, in the true spirit of Jesus Christ. Years 
afterward, in different parts of the world, he kept meeting men 
who had heard him preach in San Francisco, and who told him 
with gratitude of the influence he had had in making them 
better men. But God had a still wider work for him to do, 
and soon called him to it. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and answer the following questions. 

2. What kind of people were William Taylor's grand- 
parents and parents? 

3. What traits of character might one expect in a man with 
such ancestry ? 

4. How did William show his honesty? 

5. How did he want people to estimate him? 

6. How did Paul want to be judged? (1 Cor. 4:1.) 

7. How did Taylor win the respect and confidence of men? 

8. What kind of place was San Francisco in 1849, and 
what sort of work did Mr. Taylor have to do there? 

9. The chief material for a study of William Taylor's life 
is found in the books written by himself, such as The Story 
of my Life and Seven Years' Street Preaching in San Fran- 



Thirty-three William Taylor 161 

cisco. These, however, are out of print, and may not readily 
be found. A short but entertaining sketch is given in Robert 
E. Speer's Servants of the King. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

10. Write a short story of William Taylor's early life, mentioning 
the things that seem most important in his life and work. 

11. If you can find an outline map of the world to paste in your 
book, begin to mark on it with a red cross the places where Taylor 
worked. If not, make a list of the places. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Psalm 26: 1-7. 



Lesson 33. WILLIAM TAYLOR. A World-wide Herald of 

the Cross. 

11 They that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; 
and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and 
ever." Dan. 12: 3. 

Foreign Missionary Work. In 1862 Mr. Taylor was called 
to work in Australia. He visited England on the way, and 
was surprised to find the free use of wine at dinners, even by 
the clergy. He soon became known as an absolute abstainer 
from liquor as a beverage. He also attracted much attention 
by a pamphlet which he wrote explaining the position of the 
North in the Civil War, which helped to form public opinion 
in England favorable to the Union. 

In Australia crowds of people came to hear him preach. 
One night, when the church was crowded to its utmost limit, 
some one in the audience gave a loud shriek. The people 
sprang to their feet, one man jumped over the gallery rail, 
and it seemed as if a dangerous panic was about to take place. 
Instantly Mr. Taylor began to sing: 

11 Hear the royal proclamation, 

The glad tidings of salvation, 

Publishing to every creature, 

To the ruined sons of nature, 

Jesus reigns." 

A second and third verse followed, and by that time the audi- 
ence had quieted down, and the panic- was prevented 



162 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

The Orange Peddler's Gratitude. A collection was being 
taken for a new church in Mudgee, Australia. Many business 
men had given from ten to fifty pounds, when an orange 
peddler walked up the aisle carrying a bag. Facing the people, 
he told the story of his conversion and salvation from a life 
that was ruining him body and soul. " God has prospered 
me since," he said, " and to-day I want to give my earnings 
to Him as a thank-offering." He emptied the bag on the 
table, and when counted it was found to amount to two 
hundred and fifty sovereigns ($1210.00). 

Work in Africa. In 1866, after visiting his family, whom 
he had not seen for four years, Mr. Taylor went to Africa to 
work among the natives, especially the Kaffirs. He did a 
splendid work among these wild people, and in their un- 
civilized state they were wild enough to tax all the courage 
and patience of any man. 

Kaffir Customs. They were very superstitious, believing in 
witchcraft and all sorts of demons. Hundreds of lives have 
been sacrificed to this superstition. When witchcraft is 
suspected, the people will go to the hut of the priest and form 
a circle. The men begin to beat their drums and strike their 
spears together, and the women hum and shout and clap their 
hands. Soon the priest springs into the circle and prances 
about with the wildest sort of gestures. The din grows 
louder, until finally the priest retires to a part of the circle 
where his immediate friends stand and names the person 
who has wrought the witchcraft. The unfortunate victim 
is then seized and tied to a stake near a blazing fire, or tied 
down to a tree ants' nest, to be stung by their poisonous bites. 
He is then tortured until he confesses something, and then 
he is put to death for witchcraft. There is not much hope for 
him either way. This is called " smelling out the witch." 
Their chieftains are cruel and bloodthirsty, the tribes are 
constantly at war one with another, and thousands of lives 
are thrown away, until Christianity comes in to change their 
hearts and lives. 

Some Native Heroes. Some of these wild men, however, 
show traits that would put some civilized people to shame. 
An Englishman once employed a boatman to take him and 
his family ashore from a ship. The charge was thirteen dol- 
lars. The Englishman protested that it was too much. 






Thirty-three William Taylor 163 

" I cannot help that," was the reply; " that is the regular 
price." The next day the boatman came to the English- 
man's door. " You made a mistake in paying me yester- 
day," said he. " No, I didn't," replied the Englishman. 
11 You charged me thirteen dollars, and I paid you, and you 
don't get anything more." " But," said the boatman, " I 
meant Dutch rix-dollars, and you have paid me about three 
times too much, and I have brought the balance back to 
you." 

A native convert in the Orange River country went out 
with two companions to hunt a man-eating lion that had 
made much trouble about their kraal. The lion surprised 
them, and they ran for their lives. The Christian thought, 
as he ran, " I am better prepared to die than my companions, 
for they are not Christians." He stopped, faced about and 
stood between his friends and the lion. His gun missed fire, 
the lion struck him down and would have killed him had not 
his friends stopped when they saw him fall, and shot the lion. 
As it was, he received scars that he carried till his death. 
Mr. Taylor felt it a joy and an honor to work for men who 
had so much of good in them. 

In Other Lands. Mr Taylor next went to the East and 
West Indies and to India. There is not space to tell of all 
his adventures and the things he did. He carried into his 
mission work the same spirit of sturdy self-reliance that he 
had always shown, and became famous as the man who 
established self-supporting and independent churches and 
schools in foreign lands, instead of keeping them as missions 
supported by the society in America. This helped to cultivate 
the spirit of self-reliance in the natives also and made them 
stronger and better men. Mr. Taylor himself would accept 
no pay for his own work, but supported himself by the sale 
of his books, of which he wrote many, and by the work of his 
hands. Wherever he went, he drew people about him in great 
crowds, eager to hear his message, and many found the way 
into a life of great peace and joy and usefulness. 

A Hindu's Testimony. An English officer once met a 
Hindu at a meeting, and said to him, " What have you come 
here for?" " To hear Padri Taylor, sahib." ' He's not a 
Hindu; why do you come to hear him?" ' Well, sahib, 
there is something very mysterious going on hero. Many 



164 Heroes of the Faith Less ™ 

men whom I knew to be drunkards, swearer®, and dishonest 
men — tyrannical men, too, always abusing the natives in 
their employ — have been entirely changed in these meetings. 
They are now teetotalers, honest and true in their dealings, 
and speak only words of kindness to every one. Instead of 
hating and abusing their servants, they show real love and 
sympathy for them and try to do them good. This kind of 
work is going on all the time at Padri Taylor's meetings. 
I don't understand it, but I feel so anxious to know more 
about it, that I cannot keep away." 

Settling a Dispute. Mr. Taylor came to one district where 
the preacher welcomed him with great heartiness, saying, 
" You are just in the nick of time. There is a serious mis- 
understanding between some of the people, and we have a 
bad quarrel on our hands. Perhaps you can help us." Mr. 
Taylor began holding meetings, and the people got their 
better natures uppermost, and the quarrel disappeared. 
The minister was delighted, and several times he spoke of 
the matter and brought up the subject of dispute in the 
presence of others. Finally Mr. Taylor told him a story: 
"A man once killed an opossum. He buried it, and then 
a neighbor saw him go and dig up the carcass and pound it. 
Every two or three days he would dig up that opossum and 
maul it again. Finally the neighbor said, ' See here, you 
killed that opossum once; what do you keep digging him up 
again for?' The man replied, ' I want to mellow him.' 
Now," said Mr. Taylor, " you have killed this quarrel. Let 
it stay buried." 

South America and Home. South America was Mr. Tay- 
lor's next field of labor, and there he founded a number of 
self-supporting schools and centers for evangelistic work, 
traveling eleven thousand miles in the work. In 1878 he 
sailed for New York to spend some time in this country 
looking for teachers for the new schools. In 1884, at the 
General Conference of the Methodist church, he was elected 
as missionary bishop of Africa. This meant another long 
separation from his wife and family, something which both 
he and they felt keenly. A friend once said to Mrs. Taylor, 
" I cannot but feel hardly of Mr. Taylor for going away and 
leaving you so long." To which the brave little woman 
replied, " Well, doctor, he never went away without my 



Thirty-three William Taylor 165 

consent, or stayed longer than I allowed him to stay; and if 
I don't complain, I don't think any one else has a right to." 
So Bishop Taylor went back to Africa, landing at St. Paul 
de Loanda, where Livingstone came out upon the west coast. 
He pushed on into the interior and established mission 
stations all along the Congo River, where many and many 
a poor black man has found the light of God and the love of 
Jesus Christ, to brighten and ennoble his life. 

In 1896, Bishop Taylor retired from active work and came 
home to spend his closing years among those whom he loved. 
He died in Palo Alto, California, only a few days after his 
eighty-first birthday. In those eighty-one years he had 
carried the good tidings of God's love to men in nearly every 
land, and no one w T ill ever know how many lives he had been 
the means of lifting out of ignorance and sin into Christian 
manhood and womanhood. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Review the last lesson and read this one so as to get the 
whole story in mind. 

2. Name the countries in which Mr. Taylor worked. 

3. Tell of some incidents that show the value of his work. 

4. Of what incident in the life of Jesus does the story of 
the peddler remind one? (See Mk. 12:41-44; Lu. 21: 1-4.) 

5. Name some incidents that show the value of Mr. Tay- 
lor's work among the heathen. 

6. What led the Hindu to respect his work? What promise 
of Jesus was fulfilled in the experience of these converts (Acts 
1:8)? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

7. Continue the story of Taylor's life and the marking of the map 
or list of countries in which he worked. 

8. Write down any incidents you may know about, which show 
the power of Christ's teachings to make people noticeably better. 

9. Illustrate your note-book work with any pictures you can find 
that seem to you appropriate to the story. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the following hymn : 

" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
Does his successive journeys run; 
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, 
Till moons shall wax and wane no more. 



166 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

" People and realms of every tongue 
Dwell on His name with sweetest song; 
And infant voices shall proclaim 
Their early blessings on His name. 

" Blessings abound where'er He reigns; 
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains; 
The weary find eternal rest, 
And all the sons of want are blest. 

" Let every creature rise and bring 
Peculiar honors to our King; 
Angels descend with songs again, 
And earth repeat the loud Amen." 



Lesson 34. JOHN G. PATON. A Preacher of the Gospel to 

Cannibals. 

Bom May 24, 1824; died Jan. 28, 1907. 

"A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children." 
Prov. 13:22. 

A Scottish Home. Look at a map of Scotland and find the 
town of Dumfries, on the River Nith, a few miles north of the 
upper end of Solway Firth. Then turn to a map of Oceania, 
in the West Pacific Ocean, and find the New Hebrides, a part 
of the chain of islands known as Melanesia. Among the New 
Hebrides you will find two islands named Tanna and Aniwa. 
Link these names together in your memory, as in God's plan 
they were joined together, for on the farm of Braehead, near 
Dumfries, was born the man who was destined to be the 
messenger of Christ's light and love to the degraded cannibals 
living on these far-away islands of the Pacific. 

John Paton's parents, James and Janet Rogerson Paton, 
were of that fine old type of godly Scottish folk to whom the 
world owes so much. They moved when John was but five 
years old to the town of Torthorwald, a village of happy, 
hardy, thrifty people whose children were taught in the parish 
school, and made to understand that brains and character 
make the world's true aristocracy. John grew up here in the 
midst of a country of great natural beauty, and reminded on 



Thirty-four j ^ n Q p a f n 167 

every side of the tales of the Bruce and other stories of border 
warfare. And these stories were told over and over again by 
village patriarchs about the peat fire, while John and the 
other boys listened with wide eyes and swelling hearts. 

A Good Father. Dearest of all the memories of those early 
days were those of the kindly, yet firm discipline of his father, 
and the sacred closet where he used to go every day for prayer. 
The children learned to step softly and reverently past that 
closed door from behind which they could hear their father 
praying for them, that they might grow to an honorable and 
useful manhood and womanhood. They learned, too, to love 
and reverence the family worship and the house of God. It 
was said that James Paton never missed attendance at 
church but three times : once when the snow was too deep to 
get through, once by ice that forced him to crawl back up 
the hill on hands and knees after getting part way down with 
many falls, and once when an epidemic of cholera made it 
necessary for all public gatherings to be given up. 

A Harsh Teacher. John Paton 's schooling was interrupted 
in an unfortunate manner. He had a teacher in whom a 
really kind heart was combined with a hasty and ungoverned 
temper. His kindness of heart was shown by the way in 
which he supplied one of John's needs. Noticing that the lad 
was not so well dressed as the others, and concluding that new 
suits were not so plentiful in his home as in some, he went 
quietly one evening while the family were at worship, softly 
opened the outer door, put in a bundle, and withdrew. John 
rushed out after the prayer and found a new suit of warm and 
good clothes. But when this teacher allowed his temper to 
get the better of him, he would punish with great severity, 
and often unjustly. After John had suffered one such 
experience, when twelve years old, he left the school, and 
could not be induced to enter it again. That teacher's tin- 
governed temper might easily have cost the world a great man. 

A Tempting Offer. John was determined to have an edu- 
cation. He learned his father's trade, stocking making, 
worked hard, saved his money, and went for a time to the 
Dumfries Academy. Then he found employment on the 
Ordnance Survey, and used his spare time on his books. A 
lieutenant noticed this, and called him before the officers, who 



168 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

offered him promotion and training at the expense of the 
government, if he would sign for seven years of service. This 
he declined, for his mind was already made up that he would 
become a missionary if he could possibly obtain an educa- 
tion. The lieutenant became very angry and told him either 
to accept or be dismissed. Paton replied that he could not 
turn aside from the work to which he believed God had called, 
took his pay and left. 

Life in Glasgow. Soon after this he obtained an appoint- 
ment as visitor for a church in Glasgow with the opportunity 
for further study and training. He walked forty miles to the 
railroad, with all his belongings tied up in a large hand- 
kerchief. In Glasgow he found hard work and plenty of it. 
His health gave out after a time, and he had to give up his 
study for a while and go to teaching school. Saving up a 
little money from this, he entered college, but soon had to 
stop again for lack of money. Just at this time he obtained 
a position as teacher of the Mary hill Free Church School. 
He was warned that it was a tough job. The school had been 
well-nigh broken up by rowdies who had abused and driven 
away several teachers. Mr. Paton was given a heavy cane 
and advised to use it freely. The second week, a young man 
began attending the evening classes who showed by his ac- 
tions that he was there only for the sake of making trouble. 
Mr. Paton warned him to be quiet, but he only returned in- 
solent answers and offered to fight. Mr. Paton quietly locked 
the door, seized the cane, and went after his man. The 
struggle was rough and long, but it ended with the bully 
crouching at his desk, thoroughly whipped. Mr. Paton then 
made a short speech to the school, saying that he was there 
to help in every way possible those who wished to learn, but 
that those who came only for mischief had better stay away, 
as he was determined that he would not be beaten. Another 
struggle took place the next morning, this time with two of the 
bigger boys of the day school, and then thrashings ceased. 
The pupils found that the new teacher was master. They 
also found that he preferred to rule by friendly methods 
rather than by force. The school grew larger than ever before, 
and some of those who had been the worst to manage became 
Mr. Paton's warmest supporters. 

City Mission Work. Mr. Paton's next work was in con- 



Thirty -four 



John G. Paton 



169 




nection with the Glasgow City Mission, taking him into one of 
the worst sections of the city, among drunkards, thieves, and 
generally degraded characters. His work consisted in visiting 
from house to house, gathering the people together for meet- 
ings and Bible classes, helping those who were sick or in 
distress, and trying to bring light and cheer into lives that 
were otherwise dark enough. The work grew steadily, but 
not without opposition and many 
adventures. The keepers of the 
public houses, or saloons, found 
that the open-air meetings were 
spoiling their trade, and, when they 
learned that a large meeting was to 
be held, they went to the police 
captain and entered a complaint. 
The captain promised to watch the 
meeting and see that no injustice 
was done. The publicans spread 
the word that there would be fun 
at the meeting, and assembled a 
gang of their hangers-on to watch 
the proceedings. At the hour for 
beginning, a squad of police arrived and were distributed 
through the crowd, and the captain himself appeared, taking 
a seat on the platform where he could see everything that 
went on. The publicans were trapped. They dared not start 
any disturbance, nor could they very well leave the meeting 
to which they themselves had asked him to come, so they 
stayed through, and for once in their lives listened to a ser- 
mon, which they doubtless needed greatly. 

The Call of the Foreign Field. All this time, Mr. Paton was 
spending his spare hours in study, trying to fit himself for 
better work. All the while, too, he felt in his heart the call 
to the foreign missionary field. Finally the way opened 
through a call for a helper in the New Hebrides. Mr. Paton 
and his wife offered themselves, and on April 16, 1858, they 
sailed by way of Melbourne, Australia, to Aneityum, one of 
the New Hebrides, where successful missionary work was 
being carried on. The voyage from Melbourne to Aneityum 
was not only disagreeable but perilous. It was made in a 
trading ship whose captain was profane and brutal. When 
they arrived at Aneityum, the captain would not put them 



John G. Paton. 



170 Heroes of the Faith Less ™ 

ashore in his own boats, but laid by off the island until the 
missionaries came off in the mission schooner John Knox. 
The new arrivals were transferred to this boat with all their 
boxes, making a heavy load for the little craft. Just as the 
transfer was completed, one of the davits of the trader caught 
and broke the mast of the mission schooner, but the captain 
sailed away, leaving the overloaded and crippled boat to its 
fate. They got out their boats and tried to tow the John 
Knox ashore, but there was a stiff wind to pull against, and 
they drifted steadily toward Tanna, instead of making head- 
way toward Aneityum. Had they gone ashore on Tanna at 
that time, their goods would have been plundered and they 
themselves killed and eaten by the cannibal savages. But 
finally their plight was seen by others on shore, and more boats 
came to their rescue. After a severe struggle they finally 
landed on Aneityum toward evening. 

First Impressions of Heathenism. It was decided that a 
fresh start should be made at Christianizing the natives on 
Tanna, who had already killed two missionaries, and had 
driven others away. Mr. and Mrs. Paton went to Port 
Resolution on the west coast of that island. Their first im- 
pressions of life on Tanna must have convinced them more 
than ever of the need of the Gospel. The savages were 
naked, except for paint, filthy, degraded, and fierce as so 
many wild animals. The various tribes were constantly 
fighting one with another. 

On their arrival the Patons found that war was going on 
between the harbor people and the inland people. There 
had been a battle, and several men had been killed. Toward 
evening, the Aneityum boy who had come with them to act as 
cook, returned from the spring, saying, " Missi, this is a dark 
land. At the spring they have cooked and feasted upon the 
slain. They have washed the blood into the stream; they 
have bathed there till all the waters are red. I cannot get 
water to make your tea." Not a cheering prospect, but these 
brave pioneers asked God for help, and determined to do what 
they could, with His help, to let light into this dark land. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story. You should also read Mr. Paton's 
autobiography, edited by his brother, Rev. James Paton, or 



Thirty-five J } in Q p aton 171 

else The Story of John G. Paton, written by the same brother 
especially for young folks. Both are full of most interesting 
adventures. 

2. Where was Mr. Paton born? 

3. What kind of home did he have as a boy? 

4. How was his early schooling interrupted ? 

5. What does the wise man say about a hasty temper in 
Prov. 29:20, 22? 

6. What ideal for his life-work did John Paton form? 

7. How was he tempted to abandon this ideal? 

8. How did he meet the temptation? 

9. Tell about his experiences as a teacher and in city 
mission work in Glasgow. 

10. Where did Mr. Paton find his life-work? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

11. Write a short account of Mr. Paton's early life and work, illustra- 
ting it with his picture (Perry Picture No. 2579). 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Proverbs 8:1-11, in praise of wisdom. Note how earnestly 
and persistently John G. Paton carried out the spirit of vs. 10. 



Lesson 35. JOHN G. PATON. The Hero of the New 

Hebrides. 

" Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, 
obtained promises." Heb. 11:33. 

A Religion of Fear. The Patons found many of the same 
kind of superstitious notions among the natives of Tanna 
as Bishop Taylor found in Africa, or Carey and Judson in 
India. These people lived in constant fear of witches, demons, 
and all sorts of bugaboos. To them almost any spring or 
tree or rock might be the haunt of a spirit that could do them 
deadly injury if angered. They never dared to go out into 
the woods by night for fear of some spirit. Their whole life 
was one of fear, and these superstitions led to the same horrid 
cruelties in the way of sacrifices that we have already found 
among other savage people. 



172 Heroes o) :'.-; B aitk 

A Bitter Affliction. Almost at the beginning of his work, 
Mr. Paton ""as called to meet a heavy sorrotv in the loss of 
his beloved wife, whc fell a victim :: the leadly malarial 
fever which pois:::e:l the air on the marshy ::ast :■: Ta:t:ta. 
Sadly he laid her, with the little babe who had also died, in a 
grave built round with coral blocks. When we realize how 
hard it is tc bear such sorrow when at home surrounded by 
loving frienas whc eatress their sympathy, we can imagine 
how doubly hard it was for Mr. Paton. in that lonely place, 
surrounded by savages, most of whom would gladly have 
taken his life, if they had dared. 

Brazen Thievery. It was iisc enraging work trying to teach 
the natives anything good. They were incorrigible thieves. 
They would come into Mr. Paton's house and carry off any- 
thing they liked, ::hen before his very eyes, threatening him 
with a tomahawk if he made any opposition. If any small 
article were lying ::t the floor, a hannaman would cover it 
with his foot and deftly s^izt it with his toes, "diking off in 
the most innocent manner possible. This went on until the 
matter gpt very serious. The natives had carried off his 
cooking utensils and many things without which he simply 
could not live mmfortably. 

I ne day, however, a number :: them came rushing to him, 
crying :at. 'Miss:. missi, come ta::h. There is a god, or a 
ship on fire, or something :: fear, coming yver the sea ! What 
is it? What is it?" 

Mr. Paton replied, "I cannot come at ::t:e. I must hrs: 
- in my : ; : clothes. It is probably one of queen Vic- 
toria s men-of-war, coming t: see if your conduct is good or 
bad, if you are stealing my property, or threatening my life, 
:t how yon are using me 

Very soon twc of the chiefs :a::ae tanning: " Missi, "ill it 
be a man-of-war ?" 

" Very likely it ~ah." —as the answer. 

" And will he ask if we have ::eri; stealing : " 

" Very likely he -ill." 
And will you tell him?" 
I shall have to tell him the truth." 

missi tell him net. Everything shall be brouf 
bad 

'* Very weU," said Mr. Paton; " call your men, and see that 



Thirty-five J ^ n Q^ p a toft 173 

everything is brought back at once, and quickly, before the 
great chief comes." 

Hitherto it had been impossible to find who had taken his 
things. No one knew, but now they appeared from every 
side, running in mad haste, one with a kettle, others with a 
blanket, knives, forks, spoons, all sorts of stolen property 
which they piled on the mission house floor. The approach 
of the war-ship had a marvelous effect in quickening their 
memories. 

Heathen Whites. In addition to the native heathenism by 
which he was surrounded, Mr. Paton had also to meet the 
consequences of heathenism as bad on the part of white men 
who knew better. These Pacific islands were visited by 
traders from England and America, who bought sandalwood 
and other native products, paying for them with muskets, 
ammunition, fishhooks and various other things. They 
usually cheated the natives most outrageously, and abused 
them into the bargain. They taught them many vicious 
habits in addition to those they already knew, and carried 
many of them away into slavery. Once a trading ship 
having on board a number of men with the measles landed 
them at several points among the natives, knowing well that 
their ignorance and lack of proper means for the treatment of 
this disease makes it one of the most deadly among them. 
Hundreds died as the result of this dastardly act. The mis- 
sionaries, being white men, were often charged with respon- 
sibility for such things as these. In fact, anything unusual 
or disagreeable was likely to be laid at the door of the mission- 
aries and the coming of " the worship." 

Exciting Adventures. As a consequence of this prejudice, 
attacks were constantly being made upon Mr. Paton or his 
associates. Their lives were never really safe, and they were 
finally driven from the island altogether. One evening, while 
Mr. Johnston, a young missionary, was calling at Mr. Paton 's 
house, two men armed with huge clubs and with faces painted 
black, came asking for medicine for a sick boy. Mr. Paton 
felt sure that murder was their real object, and, as he pre- 
pared the medicine, he kept his eye on them. Then they re- 
fused to take the medicine, and stood there, each grasping his 
killing stone. Mr. Johnston was just going out, and Mr. 



174 Heroes c Les$ °^ 

::i faced the s fearlessly, saying, " You e t Mr. 

Johnston is going, and you must leave too. To-morrow you 
can bring the sick boy, or come back for the medicine." As 
Mr. Johnston left, he stooped to pick up rn that had 

run out of the door. Instantly one of the savages struck at 
him with his club. Dodging the blow, Mr. Johnston fell to the 
ground with a cry of warning to Mr. Paton. Facing them 
again, he said sternly, " What do you want?'" They instantly 
raised their clubs and aimed blows at him, when his two dogs 
sprang at their faces and made the blows go wild. Mr. Paton 
now si: the logs on them and shouted, *' Remember Jehovah 
God sees you and will punish you for trying to murder His 
servants The men fled, and were joined in their flight by 
many others who had come to witnesg and take part in the 
murder and plunder. 

Many a time Mr. Paton was threatened by savages with 
: : mahawk, or killing stone, or war club, or loaded musket, and 
often he would rash upon the savage and seize his weapon 
and cling to it, praying to God for deliverance meanwhile; and 
again and again he was saved providentially and almost 
miraculously from what seemed like certain death. It is hard 
for us who live in the midst of order and safety even to imagine 
what such a life as this would be like, surrounded by peril on 
even' side, by lay and by night. But we qm imagine the 
heroic faith in God and love for mankind which kept these 
men at their post under such conditions. The hostility and 
danger constantly increased. The only chief who was at all 
friendly was fickle, and often joined in the attacks for fear 
of being himself attacked by others. 

A Providential Deliverance. Mr Johnston soon died, his 
wife went away to recover her health, and it finally became 
clear to Mr Z- a'ton that he must leave the house where he had 
been living and go to the other side of the island, where the 
natives were less savage. With a few faithful native Chris- 
tians, and a friendly chief, he started on his perilous journey. 
Once on this journey they were surrounded by a horde of 
savages, each one urging the other to fire the first shot or 
strike the first blow. It seemed as if their end had certainly 
:. But Mr. Paton tells that even in that moment he 
realized that he was immortal until his work was done. The 
assurance came to him, as if a voice out of heaven had spoken, 



Thirty-five J h n Q^ p aton 175 

that not a musket would be fired or a blow struck. From out 
the past he heard that promise, " Lo, I am with you alway." 
They reached the Mathiesons' house on the other side of the 
island. But before long their enemies followed them, and one 
night surrounded the mission, set fire to the church and then 
to a fence connecting the church and the dwelling-house. 
Soon the house would have been on fire and all would have 
perished. Mr. Paton bravely went out with a hatchet and 
began to chop down the fence. The savages leaped upon him 
with their clubs raised, when suddenly a rushing and roaring 
sound was heard. The savages knew at once that one of their 
terrible tornadoes was upon them. In a moment it came with 
a furious wind and torrents of rain, blowing the flames directly 
away from the house and soon quenching them altogether. A 
panic seized the natives. Throwing away their torches, they 
cried out, "Jehovah's rain! Truly, their Jehovah God is 
fighting for them and helping them ! Let us away !" The 
next day a ship appeared in the harbor and rescued the 
missionaries, taking them away to Aneityum, where the na- 
tives were friendly. 

Better Days. Mr. Paton spent some time after this in 
Australia and in Scotland, speaking in the churches and 
Sunday schools and raising money for the building and main- 
tenance of a missionary ship to take the missionaries from 
one island to another and to bring supplies. This ship, the 
Dayspring, so necessary to the success of their work, was 
largely paid for by the gifts of children in the Sunday schools, 
who bought shares in her. When he returned to the islands, 
he took up his work on the island of Aniwa, where for some 
time he went through experiences almost as bad as those on 
Tanna. But at last the work began to tell. A chief named 
Namakei finally became converted, and from him Chris- 
tianity spread to others. 

Rain from Below. The thing that seemed to turn the tide in 
favor of Christianity was the digging of a well and finding 
fresh water. Good drinking water was much needed on the 
island, and Mr. Paton determined to dig a well. The natives 
thought him crazy when he told them that he expected to find 
fresh water by digging a hole. He worked on in prayer and 
hope, fearing only that the water might prove salt. But at 



176 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

last it came fresh and good. The savages were amazed, and 
old Namakei preached a sermon to the people the next 
Sabbath. After expressing his amazement over this new 
marvel of rain coming up out of the earth, he said: " Some- 
thing here in my heart tells me that Jehovah God lives, the 
Invisible One. The coral has been removed, the earth dug 
away, and, lo ! the water rises. Invisible until now, it was 
there, but our eyes were too weak to see it. So I, your chief, 
do now believe that when I die I shall then see the invisible 
Jehovah God, as missi tells me, no less surely than I now see 
the rain from the earth below. The gods of Aniwa cannot 
hear, cannot help us like the God of missi. Henceforth I am 
follower of Jehovah God. Let every man that thinks with 
me go now and fetch the idols of Aniwa, the gods which our 
fathers feared, and cast them down at missi's feet. Let us 
burn and bury and destroy those things of wood and stone, 
and let us be taught by the missi how to serve the God who 
can hear, the Jehovah who gave us the well, and who will give 
us every other blessing." 

This was the beginning of a new life for Aniwa. Chris- 
tianity spread among the natives. A church was built, the 
natives working at it as a labor of love. Services were held 
regularly, family prayers were established. The natives 
stopped stealing and fighting, and became honest, quiet and 
peaceable, until the whole island was transformed. 

Naswai Converted. Mr. Paton loved to tell of the changed 
characters of many of these Aniwans. One of them was 
Naswai, a chief who had long held out against the worship, 
and who was lazy and proud and hard. After he became con- 
verted he was particularly set against any form of lying or 
deceit. Mr. Paton used to let out work to him at a fixed 
price. Naswai would come with his men, do the work, receive 
the money and divide it up, often keeping little- or nothing 
for himself. Once the people of another village were working 
for Mr. Paton, and Naswai assisted and directed them. When 
they were paid as usual, some of them said, " Missi, you have 
paid Naswai nothing, and he worked as hard as any of us." 
Naswai turned upon him in a dignified way and said, " I did 
not work for pay. Would you make missi pay more than he 
promised? Your conduct is bad." 

Tanna also Christianized. The time came when Mr. Paton 



Thirty. five J^ Q p aton 177 

had the great joy of visiting Tanna where he had suffered so 
much and apparently in vain, and seeing this island, too, re- 
ceive the Gospel and begin to change into a civilized and Chris- 
tian community. Men who once had sought his life and 
driven him from them now came gladly to hear his words and 
show their repentance by their altered lives. And so John G. 
Paton, one of the noblest heroes of missionary history, lived 
to realize the truth of that old prophecy: " He will not fail nor 
be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the 
isles shall wait for his law " (Is. 42:4). 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read again the last lesson story, and this one. Do not 
fail to read more about Mr. Paton in one of the books men- 
tioned in the last lesson. No missionary's life is more full of 
interesting incidents and thrilling adventures. 

2. What had taken place on the New Hebrides that warned 
the Patons of danger in going there? 

3. What great sorrow did Mr. Paton have to meet in the 
early part of his work ? 

4. How was Prov. 28 : 1 illustrated at the time of the coming 
of the war-ship to Tanna ? 

5. What do you think of the conduct of the traders as com- 
pared with that of the natives ? 

6. Tell about some of Mr. Paton's adventures, either those 
in the story or others of which you have read. 

7. What gave him confidence in danger? Compare Jo. 19: 
10, ll,andPs. 91. 

8. What success finally crowned this brave missionary's 
efforts ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Continue the story of Paton's life and work, continuing the inci- 
dents that have most impressed you in your study. Illustrate the 
lesson with a map of the New Hebrides, and mark with a cross the 
islands where Mr. Paton worked. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Psalm 01, noting how well it expresses the spirit of confidence 

that Mr. Paton possessed. 



178 Heroes of the Faith 

Lesson 36. REVIEW OF LESSONS 25-35. 

The characters studied this quarter have been missionary- 
heroes, and the object of this review will be to gather up the 
general impressions that have been gained about missionaries 
and their work. 

Read the lesson stories all through, and look over your 
note-book work, then answer the following questions from 
memory and from your own thought about the subject, writ- 
ing the answers in your note-book. 

1. Make a list of the characters studied, with the name of 
each, nationality, land or lands where he worked, and special 
achievement. For example : 

Name Nationality Worked in Special Achievement 
Paul Jewish Asia Minor, Founded Christian 

Greece, Rome missions 

2. Name any three incidents that especially interest you in 
this quarter's lessons, and tell why you choose each. 

3. Judging from what you have learned in these studies, 
what traits of character does the foreign missionary need in 
order to be successful ? 

4. Name some things that the missionary should be able 
to do. 

5. What practical benefits have come to heathen lands 
through Christian missions? 

6. What benefits have come to Christian lands through 
sending out missionaries and through the results of their work? 

7. Name any missionary whom you know personally, or 
about whom you know, and tell something about him or her. 

8. Review in the " Memory Work " the hymn From Green- 
land's Icy Mountains, or Jesus Shall Reign, also 1 Cor. ch. 13, 
and the Twenty-sixth Psalm. 



FOURTH QUARTER 



Lesson 37. JONATHAN. Who Valued Friendship above 

a Throne. 

1 Sam. chs. 16-20, 31; 2 Sam. ch. 1. About b. c. 1000. 

" A friend loveth at all times; 
And a brother is born for adversity." Prow 17: 17. 

A Valiant Warrior. There was war between the Philistines 
and the men of Israel. King Saul- had gathered about him 
an army of three thousand men, and Jonathan, the young 
prince, with a thousand of these, had attacked and captured the 
town of Gibeah. But when the Philistines advanced to avenge 
this blow, the greater part of the Israelites lost heart and fled, 
leaving the king with only six hundred who stood their 
ground. The rest ran away and hid themselves in caves 
and among the rocks of Judea's mountain passes. The 
Philistines, finding the conquest 
easy, divided their forces into 
three bands and began to plun- 
der and rob in every direc- 
tion. They stationed a strong 
garrison upon the rocky heights 
on the north side of the deep 
valley of Michmash, thus guard- 
ing the pass up into the interior 
of the country. On the south 
side of the pass stood Jonathan, 
looking across at his enemies and 
seeing his late triumph turned into 
defeat. Suddenly a bold plan oc- 
curred to him. Turning to his 
armorbearer, who stood near by, 
he said, " Let us go over to the gar- 
rison of the Philistines. Perhaps Jehovah will help us, for He 
can help by a few as well as by many. Let us climb up on 
their side and show ourselves. If they say to us, ' Stand still 
until we reach you,' then we will stop; but, if they saw 
'Come up to us,' then let us go, and trust Jehovah to help 

179 




The Pass of Michmash. 



180 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

us." " All right, I am with you," said the young man. 
Without a word to any one the}' slipped down into the valley 
and clambered on hands and knees up the steep rocks on 
the other side. Some of the enemy saw them, and said one 
to another, " See there ! There are some of those Hebrews 
coming out of the holes, where they hid themselves." Then, 
raising their voices, they shouted mockingly to Jonathan and 
his companion, " Come up here, and we vail show you some- 
thing." Then Jonathan said to his armorbearer: " Come 
on, we will go, for Jehovah is with us." Up they went, and 
fell upon the surprised Philistines with such boldness and 
impetuosity that almost before they knew what had happened 
twenty of their number lay dead. To add to their terror, 
an earthquake shook the mountain and threw them into a 
panic. 

A Remarkable Victory. Meanwhile, Saul and the remnant 
of his army, encamped across the valley, heard the noise and 
saw the confusion in the Philistine garrison. They knew 
nothing of the cause, but saw an opportunity to strike, and 
immediately rushed down, crossed the valley, climbed up 
on the opposite side, fell upon their foes, and defeated them 
with great slaughter. And when the whole story was told, 
prince Jonathan became a popular hero among the men of 
Israel. 

An Afflicted King. About this time king Saul was afflicted 
with a strange malady. A great melancholy and depression 
of spirit would come over him every little while. The people 
thought that he was possessed by an evil spirit. The only 
thing that seemed to help him was the sweet music of a young 
shepherd lad, David, whose name is familiar to us all. 

Another Brave Champion. Young David was not only a 
skilful musician, but a brave fighter, and loyal to his people. 
The Philistines had again rallied to attack the Israelites, 
and they, distressed and perplexed by the mysterious illness 
of their leader, were fearful of defeat. The two armies were 
drawn up on opposite sides of a deep valley, and the Philis- 
tines, following a common custom, sent out one man as their 
champion to challenge any man of the Israelites to single 
combat, with the understanding that the side whose cham- 
pion was defeated should surrender to the other. But this 
Philistine, whose name was Goliath, was such a gigantic 



Thirty-seven Jonathan 181 

and powerful fellow that no one dared go against him single- 
handed, and neither did the Israelitish army dare attack the 
Philistines. So Goliath came out, day after day, stalking 
up and down on his side of the valley, brandishing his immense 
spear, shouting out all sorts of taunts and insults, and darin^ 
any Israelite to come out and fight with him. This w r as 
more than young David could stand. Young and modest, 
he waited a while to see if any more experienced warrior 
would accept the challenge, but when no one did so, he said 
to the king, " I will go and fight with this Philistine." 
There is no need to tell the rest of this story here. We all 
know how his brothers laughed at him, and how the king at 
first tried to dissuade him. We know, too, what the result 
was, how David, armed only with his shepherd's sling, over- 
came the giant Goliath, and cut his head off with his own 
sword; how the Philistines fled when they saw their champion 
slain, and how the Israelites pursued after them, killing and 
taking them captive. 

A Jealous Monarch. But the part that does belong in this 
story of Jonathan is what happened after the battle, for, as 
David returned to the camp, the women came out to meet 
him, with tambourines and cymbals, and danced for joy, and 
sang a song of triumph: 

" Saul hath slain his thousands, 
And David his ten thousands." 

And king Saul heard them, and was angry, for they gave 
David greater praise than himself, and he was king, and 
David but a humble shepherd lad. Now an evil spirit really 
did take possession of Saul — the spirit of jealousy — and he 
said to himself, " They will be wanting to make him king 
next," and from that day he began to eye David with fear 
and jealous hatred. 

A Royal Friendship. But prince Jonathan was more 
truly royal than his father. A brave soldier himself, he knew 
and admired a brave man when he saw one, and he vowed 
everlasting friendship with young David. True, he had just 
as much reason to be jealous of David as his father. But 
he was too noble to let that spoil his friendship for the man 
whom he admired and loved. 

The Enmity of the King. But Sauls hatred of David 
grew, First he tried by treacherous means to get rid oi him, 



182 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

He found out that his own daughter Michal loved David. 
So he sent word to David that if he would go out and kill 
a hundred Philistines, he would give him his daughter as his 
wife. For he thought, " The Philistines will kill him, and 
that will end the matter." But David went out and killed 
the Philistines, and married Michal, and thus was nearer 
than ever to the throne. Then Saul ordered Jonathan and 
his servants to kill David, but they defended him instead, 
and Jonathan told his father that he was doing David a great 
injustice. Finally, one day, when a return of the old sickness 
was upon Saul, and David was playing the harp and trying 
to relieve him, Saul suddenly raised his spear and tried to kill 
David. But David escaped. 

A Friendly Conspiracy. Then David came to Jonathan, 
saying, " What have I done that your father should seek my 
life?" Jonathan replied, " You shall not die. My father 
tells me everything that he intends to do, and if he is plotting 
harm against you, I will surely warn you." But David 
knew that king Saul was aware of Jonathan's friendship 
for him, and feared that he would therefore hide his purpose 
from his son. So they arranged a plan by which they might 
learn the intention of the king toward David. David was 
to stay away from the royal table for three days. By that 
time the king would notice his absence and inquire about him. 
Then Jonathan was to explain that he had given David 
permission to go to his native town to attend a family religious 
ceremonial. If the king was satisfied, all would be well; 
if not, he would probably betray his enmity, in which case 
Jonathan would warn David in a manner agreed upon. 

The plan was carried out. On the third day, sure enough, 
the king asked after David, and when Jonathan explained 
his absence, Saul burst out in a storm of angry abuse. He 
reproached Jonathan for conspiring with David to his own 
disadvantage. " For," he said, " as long as David lives, 
neither you nor your kingdom will be sure. Therefore, now 
send and bring him, for he is doomed to die." 

Jonathan then went out into a field where, according to 
their agreement, David was hidden. He took with him his 
bow and arrows and a little lad. " Run now," he said, 
" and find the arrow I am going to shoot," and as the lad 
ran Jonathan shot an arrow on before him. Then, raising 
his voice, he called out, " Is not the arrow beyond you? 



Thirty-seven 



Jonathan 



183 



Hurry quick, do not stop." This was the signal that had 
been arranged by which David was to know that his life 
was not safe and that he must flee. Then Jonathan, seeing 
that no one else was in sight, gave his bow and arrows to the 
boy and told him to take them back to the city. As soon 
as the lad had gone, David came out of his hiding-place; 
the two friends bade each other " Good-by," and David 
escaped, and with his going Jonathan saw his own chance of 
ever being king disappear. 

Faithful unto Death. From this day David was an outlaw, 
living most of the time in caves and among the mountain 
passes, while Saul hunted for him to kill him. But the day 
came when, in a great battle with the Philistines, Saul was 
slain, and Jonathan with him. The news was brought to 
David, and he knew that it meant the throne for him. But 
David cared as little for royal honors, in comparison with 
true friendship, as had Jonathan. Instead of rejoicing over 
the downfall of his enemy he sang a song of lamentation for 
Saul, whom he had always respected on account of his really 
noble qualities and royal position; but of his friend Jonathan 
he sang: 

41 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: 

Very pleasant hast thou been unto me : 

Thy love to me was wonderful, 

Passing the love of women." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and 1 Sam. chs. 16-20. 

2. How did Jonathan come to meet David? 

3. Why was he so strongly attracted to him? (1 Sam. 
16:12; 15:4, 5.) 

4. How did Jonathan express his friendship for David ? 
(lvSam. 18:4; 19:1-7; ch. 20.) 

5. Why did Saul become an enemy of David? 

6. Why did Jonathan still remain David's friend? 

7. How did David show his friendship for Jonathan? 

8. What did Jesus say about friendship in Jo. 15: 13-15? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write a story about David and Jonathan. 

10. Write a short story of any other friendship of which you know 
that seems to you particularly fine. 



184 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



11. Write down the names of some of your best friends and tell 
why you value their friendship. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn John 15:13-15; Pro v. 17:17 (the motto at the head of this 
lesson) and the best quotation or selection about friendship that you 
can find elsewhere. 



Lesson 38. ESTHER. A Heroine of the Jewish Captivity. 

5th century b. c. 

" Who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such 
a time as this?" Esth. 4: 14. 

How Esther became Queen. The great Persian king Xerx- 
es, or Ahasuerus, as he is called in the Book of Esther, 
was giving a magnificent banquet to the nobles and princes 
of his realm. The great palace of Shushan was resplendent 
with hangings of white and green and blue and purple. 




Mound on the Site of Ancient Shushan, or Susa. 

The guests reclined upon couches of gold and silver, while 
the servants hurried here and there over the floor of many- 
colored marble, and served their highnesses from dishes of 
gold. The viands were rare and fine, and the guests drank 
the costliest of wines. Just as the feasting was at its height, 
and when many of the guests were excited with drinking 
and carousing, it occurred to the king to send for his queen, 
Vashti, of whose beauty he was very proud, to come in and 
show herself to the company. But queen Vashti seems to 






Thirty-eight Esther 185 

have had more modesty and native refinement than her 
royal husband, and she absolutely refused to come in and 
parade before a lot of half-drunken roisterers. The king 
was furiously angry. He was not in the habit of having his 
royal will even questioned, to say nothing of being disobeyed. 
He called together his counselors, who usually agreed to any- 
thing that they thought would please him most, and forth- 
with decreed that queen Vashti should be deposed and never 
see the king again. However, the king did not wish to be 
left without any queen to share his throne. He therefore 
sent out orders that all the fairest maidens of his realm be 
brought to the palace, that he might see them all and choose 
for queen the one who pleased him most. The fair maidens 
do not seem to have had much choice in the matter, but that 
made very little difference to Xerxes. And so it came to 
pass that the doubtful honor of succeeding queen Vashti 
fell upon Esther, an orphaned Jewish maiden, who had been 
brought up by her cousin Mordecai who had a position in the 
royal palace. 

A Haughty Favorite. About this same time, it happened 
that the king had promoted a certain Haman to a position 
of influence and power, whereupon every one about the court 
began to bow very low before the new favorite, and try to 
curry favor with him. But Mordecai, the Jew, had too much 
self-respect and independence of spirit to bow down to a man 
whom he did not really respect, and this made Haman exceed- 
ingly angry, as is apt to be the case with court favorites. 
All his honors and his rank were spoiled for him by this failure 
to humble the spirit of one man, and forthwith he began to 
plot for the ruin of Mordecai. 

A Dastardly Plot. Going before the king, he told a false 
story about the Jews, saying that they were disloyal and 
disobedient to the king, and suggesting that if the king would 
permit him to have all the Jews killed, and to confiscate all 
their property, it would be a very profitable thing for the 
king's treasury. These Oriental monarchs were easily flat- 
tered, and quite as easily tempted by the prospect of mere 
wealth, and Xerxes readily gave his consent to the plan, and 
his signature and seal to the order for carrying it out. 

Soon it became known that on a certain day, about a year 
from that time, all the Jews, men and women, young and old, 



186 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



even the little children, were to be slain, and all their property 
was to be seized. There was great wailing and lamentation, 
and Mordecai showed his grief in the common manner of 
the day by clothing himself in rough sackcloth and putting 
ashes on his head. This soon came to the notice of queen 
Esther, who, within the palace, had heard nothing of the plot 
against her people, and she sent to know the cause. Mordecai 
sent back word of the plot against them, and urged her to 
go before the king to intercede with him in behalf of her 
people. Queen though she was, this was no easy thing for 
Esther to attempt. Her access to the king depended entirely 
upon his royal whim, and it was a rule of the palace that 
any one who dared come into the presence of his majesty 
without being sent for, should be put to death at once, unless 
perchance the king should be gracious enough to hold out his 
royal scepter in token of his favor. But it was a great risk 
for any one to run. Esther sent back word of this to Mor- 
decai, to which the old man replied, " Think not that thou 
wilt escape if this plot is carried out. If thou holdest thy 
peace now, relief must come to us from some other source, 
but who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom 
for such a time as this?" 

Esther's Heroic Deed. Then Esther determined to make 
the attempt. She sent word to Mordecai to gather together 
the other Jews in Shushan, and by fasting to win God's favor 
for her; she would do the same, with her maidens, and then, 
trusting in God, she would go before the king, " And," said 
the brave maiden, "if I perish, I perish." So, after three 
days of fasting and prayer, queen Esther arrayed herself 
in all her most beautiful apparel, and entered the inner court 
of the king's house. Her heart must have beat very fast 
indeed, as she saw the king seated upon his throne, and knew 
that the next few moments would decide whether she was to 
live or die. How she must have watched his face, and how 
her heart must have leaped when she saw the royal scepter 
extended toward her, and heard the king's voice: " What 
wilt thou, queen Esther? What is thy request? It shall 
be granted, even to the half of my kingdom." With head 
erect, and glorious in her beauty, Esther came near the 
throne, and touched the end of the scepter: " If it seem good 
to the king, let the king and Haman come this day to the 
banquet that I have prepared for him." The king graciously 



Thirty-eight Esther 187 

accepted the invitation, feeling quite sure that Esther had 
some further request to make, and that this banquet was just 
a means of getting him into a good humor. But when, 
at the banquet, he sought to know what the queen desired, 
she only asked that the king and Haman come on the next 
day to another banquet, and then she would make known 
her request. 

Haman went home from this banquet highly flattered. 
He told his wife and children and friends of the new honor 
that had been shown him, how he had been singled out above 
all the princes by the queen herself for this banquet with the 
king. But even so, his jealous spirit was not satisfied so 
long as the man whom he so bitterly hated was permitted 
to live. He could not even wait for the day upon which his 
wholesale revenge was to be taken, but, at the advice of his 
friends, he built that very day a gallows in the courtyard of 
his house, never doubting that he would be able to get per- 
mission from the king to hang Mordecai thereon the very 
next day. 

A Wakeful King's Discovery. Now it providentially hap- 
pened that night that Xerxes could not sleep. Not enjoy- 
ing lying awake in the dark with nothing to do any better 
than common folks, he sent for two of his officers, and 
ordered them to read aloud to him from the court records. 
So it came to pass that he found the record of how Mordecai, 
some time before, had discovered a murderous plot against 
Xerxes, and, by giving warning, had saved the king's life. 
" What has been done to reward Mordecai for this?" asked 
the king. " Nothing, sire," w r as the reply. Morning came, 
and with it Haman, as early as possible, intent on his base 
purpose. He was admitted to the royal presence, but, before 
he could say a word, the king said, " Haman, what should 
be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?" 
Haman by this time had become so puffed up that he felt 
sure that he must be the man. He saw another chance for 
honor, and for a moment forgot his own request. Said he, 
" Let royal apparel be brought, which the king himself is 
accustomed to wear, and the king's horse with a royal crown 
on its head, and let the horse and apparel be delivered to one 
of the chief princes, that he may array the man, and cause 
him to ride through the city, and proclaim before him, 4 Thus 
shall it be done to the man whom the long delights to honor.' " 



188 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Then said the king, " Make haste, and take the apparel and 
the horse, and do as thou hast said to Mordecai the Jew." 
Oh, what a hateful task for the proud and haughty Haman, 
thus to honor the man he wished to kill ! 

Queen Esther Presents her Petition. Haman no doubt 
found some solace in the thought of the banquet to which 
he was invited with the king. The king was in a very gracious 
mood, and very, very proud of his beautiful queen. Again 
he said to her, " Queen Esther, what is thy petition? Thou 
shalt have it, to the half of my kingdom." And Esther 
replied, "If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, let 
my life be given to me at my petition, and the life of my 
people; for we are sold, I and my people, to be slain." Then 
said the king, " Who is he, and where is he that durst presume 
in his heart to do so?" And Esther said, " An adversary 
and an enemy, even this wicked Haman." Then the king 
sprang up in a towering rage, and Haman grew white with 
fear, and cowered before the king and queen. He threw 
himself upon his face before Esther, to beg for his life; but 
the king called his servants and bade them take him away 
to death. Then one of the officers said, " Haman has built 
a gallows in his courtyard on which to hang Mordecai, who 
saved the king's life." " Take him away, and hang him 
thereon !" thundered the king. 

Queen Esther then told of her relationship to Mordecai, 
and begged that the decree that had gone forth might be 
revoked. To change a decree was something that Persian 
Icings were not allowed to do, but Xerxes at once issued an 
order that on the day appointed for the massacre of the Jews, 
they should be furnished with arms, and given every oppor- 
tunity to defend themselves against their enemies; and we 
may well imagine that after such an order from the king, 
those who would have killed the Jews were not very keen 
about it. 

So the day that would have been one of despair and dis- 
tress for the Jews was turned into one of great gladness and 
joy. It became one of their great holidays and festivals, 
called Purim, and to this day is celebrated each year on the 
14th and 15th of Adar, or our March. As for queen Esther, 
she continued to reign as queen for many years, while Mor- 
decai " was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among 
the Jews." 



Thirty-eight Esther 189 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the Book of Esther in addition to the story here 
given. 

2. How did Esther become queen? 

3. Who was Esther's cousin? 

4. Who was Haman ? Why did he hate Mordecai, and what 
plot did he make against him and his people? 

5. What two of the Ten Commandments did he thus 
violate ? 

6. What heroic deed did queen Esther do to save her 
people? 

7. What providential circumstance helped her purpose and 
also helped to punish Haman? 

8. What is the origin of Purim, the Jewish festival? 

9. What saying of the Bible is illustrated in the case of 
Haman? (Ps. 7:15, 16.) 

10. What does the Bible say of envy and jealousy (Prov. 
27:4; Rom. 1:29; Gal. 5:26; Jas. 3:14,15; 1 Pet. 2:1)? 
Note some of the evil deeds that have come out of envy 
(Mk. 15:1, 10; Acts 7:9). 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

11. Write a story of Esther, adding at the end the lessons which 
you think the story teaches. For illustration, either Wilde No. 622 or 
No. 630, may be chosen. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the lesson motto and any one of the Bible teachings about 
envy that you prefer. Review also the description of the opposite 
spirit, that " envieth not," in 1 Cor. ch. 13. 



190 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Lesson 39. JUDAS MACCABjEUS. The Last of the Great 
Hebrew Generals. 

1 Maccabees 1:10 — 9:22. Judas' Campaigns, 166 to 161 b. c. 

" I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; 
My God, in whom I trust." Ps. 91 : 2. 

A Defender of the Faith. There was great distress and 
consternation in the little mountain village of Modin. An- 
tiochus, the Syrian king who ruled Jerusalem and the land 
of the Hebrews, had determined to destroy the religion of the 
Jews. In order to do this, he had sent his commissioner to 
erect altars to the heathen god Jupiter in the market-places 
of all towns and villages, and was now calling upon the people 
to offer sacrifice thereon and thus renounce their allegiance 
to Jehovah and the religion of their fathers. The people in 
Modin stood about in groups, irresolute, wondering what to 
do, and hardly daring to do anything. Meanwhile they 
talked in awed whispers of the many acts of cruel persecution 
that had been done by order of the tyrant, both in Jerusalem 
and in the villages round about. They all had heard how 
Antiochus had desecrated the holy place of the temple by 
sacrificing swine upon the great altar, and pouring out a 
libation to Jupiter in the Holy of Holies. One told how^ some 
Hebrew mothers who had persisted in their loyalty to the 
worship of Jehovah had been driven through the streets of 
Jerusalem with their infant babes hung about their necks, 
and then had been dashed to pieces upon the rocks below the 
city wall. Another told w 7 ith horror of the frightful torture 
of seven brothers who, with their mother, were put to death 
for defying the order of the king. And the others listened 
with growing terror, and asked, "What will happen to us 
if we disobey the order to worship at this altar?" 

Suddenly the word ran from one to the other, " Here comes 
Mattathias! He will tell us what to do!" All eyes were 
turned toward a venerable looking man, with long gray beard, 
who was coming hurriedly toward them, accompanied by 
five splendid, stalwart young men, his sons. An evil smile 
gleamed on the face of the king's commissioner as he saw 
Mattathias and his sons. He knew that the old man was the 
recognized leader among the people of this community. He 
would make him set the example desired by the king. Ac- 
cordingly he addressed Mattathias with flattering words, 



Thirty-nine J U( J QS MdCCabcBUS 191 

promising him honor and riches for himself and his sons, if 
he would burn incense upon the altar. Mattathias answered 
him with a look of such indignation that the commissioner 
involuntarily shrank from before him. "Though all the 
nations that are under the king's dominion obey him, and 
fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and give 
consent to his commandments : yet will I and my sons and 
my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God 
forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances. 
We will not hearken to the king's words, to go from our reli- 
gion, either on the right hand, or the left." 

A Coward Punished. The people listened with mingled 
admiration and fear. But one, whose fear of the consequences 
that might follow this bold defiance was greater than his 
nobility or courage, hastily stepped up to the altar, intending 
to sacrifice thereon in compliance with the king's command. 
The sight was like a flame to the kindling indignation of Mat- 
tathias. With a stroke of his sword he laid the renegade low, 
and with another he slew the king's commissioner. Then, 
turning to the altar, he leveled it to the ground, hurling the 
stones in every direction. 

Open Revolt. The people watched Mattathias in silence 
until his work was finished. Then the old man turned to 
them, and cried aloud, " Whosoever is zealous of the law, 
and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me !" A cheer 
went up on the instant, and men sprang forward, eager to 
follow in defense of their liberties now that a leader had 
arisen. They fled at once to the mountains, forsaking their 
possessions. There they were soon joined by others, until 
a force had been gathered which before long was to make the 
Syrian king wish that he had never stirred up that hornet's 
nest in Modin. They made frequent raids in various parts 
of the country, overthrowing heathen altars that had been 
set up, and putting apostate Jews to death. 

Judas Maccabaeus. The aged Mattathias was now draw- 
ing near his end. Before his death he called his five sons about 
him and divided his authority, appointing Judas, his third 
son, commander-in-chief of the forces he had assembled. 
Probably because of his vigorous assaults on the Syrians, 
he came to be called the " Maccabee," that is, the kl Ham- 



192 Heroes of the Faith Less ™ 

merer," and this name afterwards clung to the entire family. 
Apollonius, the Syrian officer who had massacred unresisting 
Jews in the streets of Jerusalem, immediately raised an army 
to scatter this mob of rebels, as he considered them. A battle 
was fought near Jerusalem, Apollonius was killed, and Judas 
himself took his sword and used it in all his subsequent bat- 
tles. Another general, named Seron, raised an army to put 
down the rebels and gain honor for himself. The little band 
of Jews, scattered about the rocky cliffs, watched the great 
army of disciplined soldiers marching against them, and 
were dismayed. But Judas said, " It is no hard matter for 
many to be shut up in the hand of a few ; and with the God 
of heaven it is all one, to deliver with a great multitude, or 
a small company ; for the victory of battle standeth not in the 
multitude of an host; but strength cometh from heaven." 
With these words ringing in their ears, the little band of Jews 
fell suddenly upon the army as it marched up the rocky pass. 
Seron was killed and his army scattered almost before they 
realized what had happened. 

Continued Successes. Judas carried on a guerrilla warfare 
for two years, winning battle after battle, and constantly 
gathering numbers of loyal, patriotic Jews to his standard. 

The revolt of the village of 
Modin had become a national 
uprising which threatened to 
disintegrate the kingdom of 
vSyria. At last king Antiochus 
Epiphanes determined to lead a 
great army into that part of his 
realm and punish the Jews. 
The expedition was made ready 
under two generals, Nicanor and 
Gorgias. Nicanor thought that 
victory was so certain that 
he invited slave-dealers from 
Antiochus Epiphanes. Phoenicia to his camp, that they 

might be ready to buy the Jewish prisoners. The battle 
took place near Modin. Nicanor separated his forces, sending 
a strong detachment under Gorgias to surprise Judas in camp. 
But Judas discovered his intention and met it by strategy. 
He fed his army, had them light bright camp fires and then 




rhiriy-nine judas Maccabceus 193 

quietly deserted the camp. When Gorgias came to the empty 
camp he concluded that the Jews had fled to the mountains, 
and started off in pursuit. Meanwhile, Judas had led his 
forces around by another way and fallen upon the Syrian 
army under Nicanor, encamped near Emmaus. The attack 
was such a surprise that the Syrians were overcome, their 
camp burned, and Nicanor put to flight. Gorgias returned 
from his wild-goose chase to find his camp in flames and the 
rest of the army scattered. His own men were seized with 
panic and fled after Nicanor. 

Jerusalem Retaken. Soon after this, Judas entered Jerusa- 
lem in triumph. While he could not dislodge the Syrian 
garrison in the citadel, his soldiers held them in check so that 
another part of the army might cleanse and repair the temple, 
build a new altar, appoint priests and re-establish the worship 
of Jehovah in the place that had been defiled by heathen 
orgies. That was a great day for Israel, and a new festival, 
the Feast of Dedication, or of Lights, from the general illu- 
mination of the houses, was established in memory of it. This 
feast is still observed in Jewish communities. Songs, such 
as Psalms 30 and 68, were written in honor of the great 
deliverance. They were sung in the temple service, and 
people went about the streets with the glad refrain upon 
their lips : 

" I will extol thee, O Jehovah, for thou hast raised me up, 
And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me." 

Judas as Sovereign. For a year and a half, Judas governed 
his people as sovereign. He discharged the duties of high 
priest and king as well. He punished many of the surround- 
ing nations that had aided the Syrians in their attempt to 
keep the Jews in subjection, and like a true patriot exerted 
himself to win for his people political independence, and, at the 
same time, tried to make them honest, orderly, God-fearing, 
and industrious. In all his battles he was inspired by a 
deeply religious motive, and constantly exhorted his men to 
put their trust in God. But at the same time, like the great 
Cromwell, who told his soldiers to trust in God and keep their 
powder dry, Judas did all he could to help answer his own 
prayers by taking every precaution and using the best pos- 
sible strategy in warfare. He never left anything undone 
that ought to be done to insure success. While his enemies 



194 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

repeatedly fell victims to their own over-confidence, Judas 
never forgot that he was fighting against fearful odds, and 
was always on his guard. 

The Death of Judas* The Syrians, however, proved too 
much for the little nation of Judea in the long run. They 
had almost limitless resources, and kept sending larger and 
larger armies, until finally, in the year 161 B.C., Demetrius 
the king sent an immense force against the insurgent army 
of three thousand. A strange panic seemed to possess the 
Jews. Many of them counseled flight. " God forbid," said 
Judas, " that I should do this thing and flee away from them ; 
if our time be come, let us die manfully for our brethren, and 
let us not leave behind a stain upon our honor." The battle 
was fought, and Judas himself was slain. His brethren laid 
him to rest in the family tomb at Modin, and all Israel mourned 
for him many days. Well they might, for they had lost a 
great leader, brave, conscientious, skilful, and sincerely 
devoted to the welfare of his people. He fought not for 
glory, not for conquest, not even for the deliverance of his 
countrymen from the hated yoke of a foreign oppressor, but 
for the preservation of the Jewish faith. We, too, owe him 
a debt of gratitude. Had it not been for him, Judea would 
probably have been overwhelmed with heathenism, and the 
religion out of which Christianity has grown might have been 
wellnigh blotted out, 



DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story carefully. You can find out more 
about Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers in the First Book 
of Maccabees, one of the books of the so-called Apocrypha. 
These books are not included in our modern Bibles, but may 
be found in many of the older editions, or in " family " 
Bibles. 

2. An excellent story of the time of Judas Maccabaeus is 
Deborah by Mr. J. H. Ludlow. This is an interesting story, 
and gives a very good idea of the spirit of these stirring times 
in the history of Judea. 

3. What was it that finally drove the Jews to open revolt 
against Syria? 



Foriu Chinese Gordon 195 

4. What was the chief source of inspiration and strength 
to Judas in his battles ? 

5. What else helped to give him the success that he had ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Write a short story of Judas Maccabseus, telling what you learn 
from the lesson story, and any other reading. End it with a short 
paragraph giving your opinion of the character of Judas. 

7. Write down the names of some things you think men ought to 
fight against to-day in the same spirit that Judas and his followers 
fought against the heathenism of the Syrians. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Psalm 30 or 68, reading it carefully first, and trying to get 
its meaning in the light of the times to which it refers. The titles to 
the Psalms are generally held to have been added long after their 
composition, and when the names of the real authors were no longer 
known. 



Lesson 40. CHINESE GORDON. How he Became a 
" Yellow Jacket." 

Born Jan. 28, 1833; died Jan. 26, 1885. 

" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Eccl. 
9:10. 

Merry Times at Woolwich. About sixty-five years ago, in 
the city of Woolwich, England, where the soldiers of the 
British artillery are trained, there lived a lively, mischievous 
lad for whom life was never dull and who managed to make 
things interesting for almost every one else. His name was 
Charles Gordon, and his ancestors were famous soldiers in the 
British army, while his mother is said to have- been " one of 
the people who never lose their tempers, who always make 
the best of everything, and who are always thinking of how 
to help others and never of themselves." These two traits 
of character made themselves plainly evident in Charles 
Gordon's life. He became one of the bravest and most effi- 
cient soldiers that England has ever seen, and he was also 
one of the most genuinely unselfish men that ever lived. As 
a boy he was the leader in all sorts of wild pranks. lie and 
his companions made friends of the workmen at the govern- 



196 Heroes oj the Faith Lesson 

ment arsenal, who made them famous squirt-guns and cross- 
bows with which they amused themselves, and there were 
not many of the tricks known to boys of any age that young 
Gordon and his brothers were not up to. It was their special 
delight to play jokes on the " pussies," as they called the 
cadets at Woolwich. These cadets were stationed at the 
Royal Arsenal, in front of which were great earthworks and 
trenches in which they were trained in the arts of warfare. 
One night, when the cadets were listening to a lecture from 
the colonel, there was a tremendous crash as of an explosion. 
The cadets thought that all the glass in the place was broken, 
and rushed pell-mell from the building, only to find that some 
one had fooled them by throwing handfuls of small shot at 
the windows. They at once exclaimed, " It's that Charlie 
Gordon," and set off in pursuit. But young Gordon knew 
ever)' inch of those earthworks better than the cadets, and 
easily escaped them, for even in his fun he showed the quality 
that made him so successful in after life ; he always knew just 
what he was about. In course of time Charles became a 
cadet himself, and continued his fun, getting into many a 
scrape, and always taking his full share of punishment and 
sometimes more, for he was never afraid to own up and scorned 
any falsehood or evasion of the truth. 

A Joke with Lasting Results. One prank cost him deafly 
at the time, and changed the whole course of his later career. 
There was a good deal of hazing among the cadets, and one 
new boy reported that Gordon had hit him on the head with 
a clothes brush. He admitted that the blow was not a severe 
one, but the authorities set young Gordon back six months 
in his commission. Until this time Gordon had intended to 
be an artilleryman, but now, knowing that he would always 
be six months behind those with whom he had been studying, 
he decided to become a military engineer. He was well 
fitted for this, being exceptionally gifted in map drawing and 
exceedingly exact in detail work, and the change probably 
opened before him a wider field for usefulness and influence 
than he might have found as a gunner. 

In the Crimea. At twenty-one Gordon was a lieutenant, 
and soon afterward was sent to the Crimea, where the great 
war between Russia and England and France was being 
fought, the same war that we have heard of before in con- 



Forty 



Chinese Gordon 



197 




Charles George Gordon. 



nection with Florence Nightingale. Gordon was entrusted with 
the task of erecting huts for the soldiers, and had opportunity 
to see and to help to right the 
many mistakes that were made, 
which cost the lives of thousands. 
It was not long, however, before 
he was assigned to duty in the 
trenches, which was more con- 
genial to him, as it brought him 
nearer to the actual fighting, 
and he loved the excitement and 
hard work. He soon made a rep- 
utation, which never left him, 
as a man devoid of fear. One 
day, while passing through the 
trenches, he found a corporal and 
a private engaged in a dispute. 
They were at work placing bas- 
kets of earth to repair the earthworks, and the corporal 
had ordered the soldier to stand up above, where he was 
exposed to the fire of the enemy, while he himself handed 
up the baskets from a place of safety. Lieutenant Gordon 
inquired into the matter, then sprang upon the earthwork, 
ordered the corporal to stand beside him, and told the private 
to hand up the baskets. The bullets fell about them like rain, 
but they finished their work and jumped down into the trench. 
Then Gordon said to the corporal, " Never order any man to 
do what you are afraid to do yourself." He had all sorts of 
narrow escapes and was once wounded, much to his disgust, 
for it laid him aside from active duty for a short time. At 
the close of the war he was decorated by the French govern- 
ment with the Legion of Honor for his distinguished services, 
an honor rarely accorded to so young an officer. 

"Chinese Gordon." Gordon was not allowed to remain 
long at home. A few years later he took part in an expedi- 
tion to China with whom England was then at war. The 
Chinese government saw something of his skill and bravery, 
and when, not long afterward, a Chinese village school- 
master, called Hung-Tsue-Schuen, set himself up to be the 
heaven-appointed ruler of China, the government asked Un- 
English officers to help them out, Gordon was appointed 



198 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

to this task. He was given command of an army which was 
boastfully called the " Ever- victorious Army," although it 
had thus far distinguished itself for nothing but its lack of 
organization and discipline, and for the fact that it had 
always been beaten. The Wangs, or T'ai P'ings, as the rebels 
were called, were over-running the country, plundering vil- 
lages, murdering the inhabitants, and acting with the greatest 
of cruelty. Gordon accepted this difficult task solely because 
he saw a chance to put a stop to this terrible loss of life and 
help people who were in great distress. He organized and 
drilled his army, arranged that his soldiers should get their 
pay regularly, issued strict orders against plundering and 
looting, got together a little fleet of gunboats, and began his 
campaign. The rebels only laughed at first, but after Gor- 
don's little army of three thousand had repeatedly beaten 
and driven off armies three and four times its size, they began 
to think very differently. Gordon put life and courage into 
his troops. He was always in the thick of the fighting, armed 
with only a little cane, but leading the most desperate charges, 
as though bullets were nothing but so much paper. The 
Chinese soon came to believe that his life was protected by 
some srrt of charm. Many thought that his cane was the 
talisman. He had many troubles with his own troops. 
They could not be broken of all their bad habits at once, and 
some thought it very hard that they were not allowed to steal 
and plunder as they had done. Once they drew up a proc- 
lamation declaring that unless they were allowed to have 
their own way they would kill their officers. Gordon felt 
sure that the non-commissioned officers were at the bottom 
of the trouble. He at once had them all lined up before 
him, and told them that if they did not at once reveal the 
author of that proclamation he would have one out of every 
five of them shot. At once they all began to groan and howl, 
and one in particular made more fuss than all the rest. 
Gordon decided that he was the worst of the lot. He pounced 
upon the fellow, dragged him out of the ranks and ordered 
him shot. Then he put all the rest into the guard-house 
and gave them until the end of the hour to reveal the name of 
the culprit, and to fall into the ranks again. In a very short 
time they came to their senses and gave him the name of the 
man. Gordon was right, it was the man who had already 
been punished. 



Fort v Chinese Gordon 199 

Angry with Good Cause. The " Ever- victorious Army ". 
went on earning its name until at last the Wangs surrendered 
upon Gordon's promise that the lives of the leading Wangs 
should be spared, and that all should be treated mercifully. 
The Chinese government agreed to these terms, but as soon 
as they got the rebel chiefs in their power, they proceeded 
to violate their promises, and killed every one of them. Gor- 
don was furious at this breach of good faith. He even started 
out in search of Li Hung Chang, the Chinese governor, with 
the avowed intention of killing him for his treachery. Li 
kept out of Gordon's way. The Chinese government awarded 
to Gordon a medal that was reserved only for their bravest 
soldiers, and the emperor sent him a gift of about $15,000. 
But when the messengers arrived at Gordon's headquarters 
with their treasure, he thought the emperor was trying to 
bribe him to overlook the treachery that had been shown to 
those whom he had promised to spare. Springing to his 
feet, he fell upon the astonished treasure-bearers with his 
" magic wand " and flogged them and their gifts out of his 
sight. Of course Gordon resigned his command. He felt 
that he could not longer have anything to do with people 
who had so foully betrayed even an enemy. But as he saw 
the war continued, and knew that unless he resumed his com- 
mand hundreds and thousands of innocent people would 
suffer, he put his own personal feelings one side, took up the 
task once more, and finally succeeded in subduing the rebels. 

The Chinese government again wanted to reward him 
handsomely, but he would accept nothing but the honor of 
being made a Ti-tu, or field marshal, and the award of the 
Yellow Jacket, which in the eyes of the Chinamen was the 
greatest honor that could come to one, since it would place 
him among the chosen twenty of the emperor's bodyguard. 
He wrote to his mother, " I shall leave China as poor as I 
entered it, but with the knowledge that through my weak 
instrumentality upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand 
lives have been spared. " Even his enemies had learned to 
honor and love him. The Chinese government trusted liim 
as it never had trusted a foreigner before, and few, if any, 
since. The reason for this trust was Gordon's courage, 
simplicity and straightforwardness, his honesty of thought 
and speech, his wide sympathy with men, his clear-sighted 
devotion to whatever task was committed to him, and his 



200 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

absolute disregard of private ambition and money gains. 
He despised all crooked ways, because he knew that the best 
way is the straight way. In every situation his chief ambi- 
tion was to do the right thing, and he had unwavering faith 
in the right because first of all he had unwavering faith in 
God. The love and honor which such a man won among the 
Chinese he was yet to win in other lands, 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. In addition to the lesson story, read, if possible, The 
Story of General Gordon, by Jeanie Lang, in " The Children's 
Heroes " series. It is a finely written story of a great hero. 
A fine biography of Charles George Gordon by Lieut. -General 
Sir William F. Butler is included in " The English Men of 
Action " series. 

2. In what ways did Gordon illustrate the motto chosen for 
this lesson? 

3. Where was his first important service? What person 
of whom you have studied did he meet there ? 

4. How did he show himself fit to command others and lead 
them to deeds of daring? 

5. How did Gordon come to be called " Chinese Gordon"? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Write a short story of General Gordon, bringing out the points 
that most interest you in his life and character. 

MEMORY WORK. 
Learn 1 Jo. 3 :16, 17; verses that Gordon loved, and the spirit of 
which he so splendidly illustrated. 



Lesson il. CHINESE GORDON. A Modern Sir Galahad. 

" Perfect love casteth out fear." 1 Jo. 4: 18. 

" God Bless the Kernel." After he was through with his 
work in China, Colonel Gordon went to Gravesend, as Com- 
manding Royal Engineer. The years that he spent here were 
the happiest of his life, and they were happy years for many 
others too. In various places in the city one might see the 



Forty-one Chinese Gordon 201 

words, chalked upon doors and fences in boyish handwriting, 
" God bless the Kernel," and this was the tribute of praise 
from many a ragged little urchin whom Colonel Gordon had 
befriended and helped. His house was a refuge and home for 
many a boy without home or friends or work. There they 
found a warm welcome, clothes, food, a chance to start in life, 
and a friend who never failed them or forgot them. He used 
to have a map of the world hanging over his mantelpiece stuck 
full of pins, and these pins marked the places where " his 
boys " were at the time. He had a class of boys that he used 
to teach, and such teaching as it was ! He taught them 
geography, and told them the most exciting stories of strange 
lands and battles in which he himself had fought. He never 
preached at them, but by his stories and even more by his 
own splendid life, he taught them to be manly, honest, true 
men. 

If one of his boys fell sick, the " Kernel " was sure to be at 
his bedside, stroking the fevered head, telling stories, or sooth- 
ing the restless sufferer until he fell asleep. Not only the boys 
but the poor and helpless and suffering of every age came to 
know the " Kernel " and bless him for his goodness. One 
sick woman was told by her doctor that she must have certain 
dainties that she was too poor to buy. Colonel Gordon found 
out about it, and after that she had what she needed each 
day. A big rough sailor lay tossing in fever, without any 
care or attention until the " Kernel " learned of it, and came 
night after night to sit by the poor fellow's bed, tending him 
with the gentlest care. His unselfishness was shown in the 
use he made of a large gold medal given him by the emperor 
of China, and which he brought home to England as one of 
his most cherished souvenirs of the T'ai P'ing war. Almost 
immediately after his return, and without telling any one 
from whom it came, he gave it to the Coventry Relief Fund. 
Men soon learned that this man, who never spared himself, 
and who could lead a furious charge of soldiers in a deadly 
battle, could also be as gentle as a mother and as loving as 
any true Christian gentleman should be. 

In Egypt. Gordon's peaceful days at Gravesend came to an 
end when the khedive of Egypt invited him to become gov- 
ernor of the tribes on the Upper Nile. Gordon saw an oppor- 
tunity to do a great deal of good to a very needy people and 



202 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

accepted the post. He was offered a salary of ten thousand 
pounds sterling, or about $50,000. He knew, however, that 
this large sum would be wrung out of poor people by exor- 
bitant taxes, and therefore would accept only two thousand 
pounds. The Soudan, as this part of Egypt is called, is a 
dreary desert country, across whose plains the hot winds 
sweep driving clouds of sand that cut like needles. Thorny 
plants, trees with fruit like apples, but deadly poison, taran- 
tulas, scorpions, and various other poisonous insects and 
reptiles abound. The condition of the people is quite as 
dreary as the country itself. The people were poor, oppressed, 
ignorant, and helpless. The country was especially cursed 
by the slave traffic, with all the horrors that Livingstone 
found in the heart of Africa. Gordon set himself to righting 
the wrongs of these wretched people. He astonished the 
Egyptian officers and soldiers by the way he went at things. 
They were used to officials who never did any work if they 
could help it, and were always seeking bribes. Gordon, as 
usual, never told any man to do anything that he was not 
willing to do himself, and any one who dared offer him a bribe 
met with such a terrific reprimand that he was not likely to 
try it a second time. 

Strange Sights. Gordon's letters describe many strange 
scenes in the Soudan. One chieftain came to see Gordon 
wearing an elaborate costume consisting of a string of beads. 
11 He came up to me," says Gordon, " took up each hand and 
gave a good soft lick to the backs of them ; and then he held 
my face and made the motion of spitting in it." This was a 
mark of great respect among these people, but one that was 
likely to be misunderstood by strangers. 

As Gordon sailed up the Nile he saw great crocodiles bask- 
ing in the sun with their mouths wide open. Troops of mon- 
keys chattered at him from the trees, and immense hippo- 
potami wallowed about in the water fighting and bellowing 
at a great rate. He went everywhere, getting from place to 
place with amazing rapidity, seizing slaves and setting them 
free and punishing slave traders whenever he caught them. 
He taught the people to plant and reap their harvests, gave 
them grain, listened to their complaints and did everything 
in his power to help them live orderly and useful lives. Often 
the people themselves were to blame for their troubles. One 



Forty-one Chinese Gordon 203 

man stole a cow and ate it. A little later Gordon saw that one 
of this man's children was missing. Upon inquiry he found 
that the boy had been given as a slave to the man who lost 
the cow, to make good the theft. But with all his tremen- 
dous energy and hard work, Gordon found that he was not 
making much headway. The khedive did not really care to 
abolish slavery, and did not give Gordon the support that 
he should have had. So Gordon resigned. Very soon the 
khedive saw that his going was a great loss, and begged him 
to come back, this time promising him every possible support 
in the work he had to do. 

Governor-General of the Soudan. Gordon could not resist 
the opportunity to do so great a work as seemed now possible, 
and so accepted the appointment as Governor- General of the 
Soudan, and started back again to Khartoum. The slaves 
were organized with a strong army, and were running things 
much as they pleased. But Gordon had lost none of his 
courage, and was used to fighting against heavy odds. Once 
he heard that the son of Sebehr, king of the slaves, with an 
army of six thousand, was about to attack a small garrison. 
At once he set off alone, on his camel, riding eighty-five miles 
in a day and a half, and arriving covered with dust and flies. 
The garrison were thunderstruck when he arrived, but not 
half so much as were the slaves, when he rode into their camp 
the next morning and sternly ordered them to lay down their 
arms and disperse. And the amazed soldiers obeyed, com- 
pletely overawed by the nerve of this man who seemed not 
to know what fear was. 

A similar instance of courage was shown when Gordon went 
on a mission to the king of Abyssinia, a most savage and blood- 
thirsty tyrant. The king treated Gordon insolently. " Don't 
you know that I could kill you?" he asked. Gordon replied 
that he was quite well aware of that, but that such an act 
would be only conferring a favor upon him. ' Then my 
power has no terrors for you?" asked the king. " None 
whatever," replied Gordon, and the king was silenced. 

Gordon again resigned his post as Governor-General. He 
was worn and needed rest, and returned to England to find it. 
He left behind him a reputation that any man might envy, 
that of a man who was above all dishonesty, who had no fear 
of death, and who was absolutely just. 



204 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

His Last Commission. In the course of time one Moham- 
med Ahmed, a dervish, or holy man, arose in Egypt and pro- 
claimed himself to be the deliverer of the people. Men 
flocked to his banners and soon he had a great army and 
made himself master in the Soudan. But, like many another 
self-proclaimed " deliverer," he delivered the people into his 
own power and then used that power cruelly. Soon the 
people began to cry for help. " Give us another governor 
like Gordon Pasha," said they, and their cry was heard and 
answered. England was interested in keeping peace and 
order in the Soudan, and Gordon was picked out as the only 
man who could do it. Before long he was on his way back 
to Khartoum, never to return. He found the people in a 
panic, and it took all of his strong personality and influence 
to calm them. The common people crowded about him and 
tried to kiss his hands and feet. He heard their complaints, 
threw open the prisons, set free prisoners who had been con- 
fined there without cause, had the instruments of torture 
that had been used upon them burned, and in other ways 
showed the people that he meant to govern them fairly and 
kindly. But the Mahdi, as the self-styled deliverer was 
called, had gathered a strong army and the English govern- 
ment did not appreciate the desperate situation in which 
Gordon was placed, and so failed to send him the necessary 
support soon enough. Gordon was finally shut into Khar- 
toum, which he had strongly fortified and which held out for 
a long time. Day after day he would walk on the top of a 
tower which he had built, looking and looking for the relief 
that never came. One of his soldiers afterward said, " He 
seemed never to sleep. He was always looking after his 
men." As food grew more scarce, he denied himself that 
there might be more for the rest. At last an English relief 
expedition was started. The officials at home were at last 
aroused to the seriousness of the situation, and a large prize 
was offered to the regiment that should first reach Khartoum. 
On Dec. 14, 1884, Gordon wrote, " This may be the last letter 
you will receive from me, for we are on our last legs, owing 
to the delay of the expedition. However, God rules all, and, 
as He will rule to His glory and our welfare, His will be done." 
In his journal he wrote, " I have done my best for the honor 
of our country. Good-by. C. G. Gordon." 

Khartoum fell at last, on Jan. 26, 1885, partly, perhaps, 



Forty-one Chinese Gordon 205 

through treachery, although it could not have held out much 
longer, for Gordon and his men were weak with hunger and 
their ammunition was almost gone. Gordon was cut to pieces 
while trying to rally his men, and the city was given over to 
massacre and plunder. A new palace now stands on the site 
of the old one, and in the garden bloom roses on bushes 
planted by Gordon himself. Gordon College, a school for 
the black boys for whom he fought and died, is a most fitting 
memorial of the man, but better still is the loving reverence 
with which the people of the Soudan, and all who knew him, 
now think of his name. The tribute written to him by 
Lieutenant-General Sir William F. Butler fitly sums up the 
character of this Christian hero: " Absolutely without a 
parallel in our modern life, Gordon stands out the foremost 
man of action of our time and nation whose ruling principle 
was faith and good works. No gloomy faith, no exalted 
sense of self-confidence, no mocking of the beliefs of others, 
no separation of his sense of God from the everyday work to 
which his hand had to be put ; no leaving of religion at the 
church-door as a garb to be put on going in and taken off 
coming out; but faith which was a living, moving, genial 
reality with him, present always and everywhere, shining out 
in every act of his life," 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Finish the study of Gordon's life in this story and in 
other books. Besides the work referred to in the last lesson, 
there is an interesting life by G. Barnett Smith, entitled 
General Gordon, the Christian Soldier and Hero. 

2. What do you think would have most impressed you in 
the character of Gordon if you had known him ? 

3. Of what other character studied in this course does 
Gordon's life and work remind you? 

4. What incidents seem to you best to illustrate his really 
Christian character? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

5. Finish your sketch of the life of Gordon, telling of his work in 
Egypt. Illustrate the story with a picture of Gordon, if possible, or 
with an outline map of the Soudan. 

6. Write down any ways in which you think a boy or girl of to-day 
might imitate Gordon. 



206 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the following lines written by Richard Watson Gilder as a 
tribute to Abram Stevens Hewitt, a man who did much for the cause 
of better government in our great cities. They apply equally well to 
General Gordon : 

11 Mourn for his death, but for his life rejoice; 



" Dauntless in youth, impetuous in age, 
Weighty in speech, in civic counsel sage; 

" Talents and wealth to him were but a trust 
To lift his helpless brother from the dust ; 

" This his chief aim : to wake, in every man, 
The soul to do what only courage can." 



Lesson 42. WILLIAM PENN. A Man who was Fair. 

Born Oct. 14, 1644; died July 30, 1718. 

" The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, 
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, 
without hypocrisy." Jas. 3 : 17. 

A Name Worth Having. The name of one of the greatest of 
our eastern states suggests two things that are worthy of 
remembrance by every boy and girl in the world. The 
state which is known as Pennsylvania has the proud dis- 
tinction of being one of the very few districts that was founded 
in a peaceful manner, without bloodshed or the desire of 
conquest on the part of its founder ; and the first part of the 
name recalls the man who accomplished this worthy deed, 
William Penn, one of the great characters of the world's 
history. And William Penn deserves all the more credit 
for what he did, because his ancestry and early training might 
have been expected to make of him quite a different man, one 
who would be a great soldier and fighter, making his way 
through force of arms rather than by kindness, justice, and 
fair dealing. 

The Admiral's Son. William Penn's father was Vice- 
Admiral of England, a very distinguished soldier who had 
risen rapidly and stood high in the favor both of the Com- 



Forty-two William Penn 207 

monwealth and of king Charles II. He wanted his children, 
and especially his oldest son, to be brought up in a manner 
that he thought fitting to their rank. He was anxious that 
William should win fame and honor as he had done. He 
took care therefore that the lad should have the best of school- 
ing, and that he should mingle with people who would help 
him politically in later years. But very early in life William 
showed a serious mind and a tendency to care more for religion, 
and things that made for character, than for military honors 
or political advancement. As a boy he had for his playground 
the shady depths of Hainault Forest, and as he looked up into 
the green roof made by its stately trees, his mind was ir- 
resistibly led to dwell upon the God who made all things, 
and whose temples these forests seemed to be. While still 
a boy of twelve he says that he experienced a very definite 
feeling that God was near him and that he belonged to God, 
and this feeling he never lost. He entered Oxford University 
when he was about fifteen, and there he became interested 
in the simple faith and simple worship of the Friends, or 
Quakers, as they were then called. Soon he became con- 
vinced that the formality of the prevailing worship in the 
Church of England was not only useless but even wrong, and 
he began to withdraw himself from those services and meet 
with those who cared for a more simple worship. This not 
only got him into trouble with the university authorities, 
but with his father as well, for the old admiral saw that if his 
boy got to thinking along these lines he would not be likely 
to win the kind of honors that his father wanted him to have. 

Tempted and Tried. Sir William Penn tried various plans 
to counteract this tendency which he disliked in his son. 
He sent him to travel in France, then brought' him to reside 
in London where he would be brought into contact with the 
frivolous and even immoral court life of Charles II. Later 
he sent him to Ireland to look after some of the family estates, 
and tried to have him thrown as much as possible into the 
court life at Dublin. He also remonstrated with the young 
man, and tried to dissuade him from associating with the 
Quakers, who were despised and looked down upon at that 
time. But all these attempts failed. Young Penn was 
gifted with one great blessing, absolute loyalty to his best 
principles, and, although at times he was led a\va\ a little 



208 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

by the attractions of the life into which he was thrown, he 
always came back again to the ideals in which he most be- 
lieved. 

A Great Calamity. While William was a young man a great 
pestilence called " The Plague," swept over the city of Lon- 
don, carrying off a hundred thousand people in six months, 
and this was followed by a great fire which reduced the whole 
city to ashes. The fire was probably a blessing, in that it 
wiped out the plague, but it was a terrible scene, and im- 
pressed William Penn anew with the comparative worthlessness 
of houses and riches and things that could be thus destroyed. 
Not long after this he associated himself openly with the 
Quakers and attended their meetings and spoke at many of 
them himself. 

His Father's Anger. The hardest thing he had to meet was 
the anger of his father who, finding that neither persuasion 
nor threats would move his son from the principles he had 
adopted, finally cast him out and forbade him to enter his 
house. But this only had the effect of throwing William 
more than ever into the society of his Quaker friends. His 
mother stood by him and helped him all she could, and finally 
his father became reconciled to him and at his death admitted 
that his son was right in following out his convictions. 

Imprisonment and Trial. In those days it was the law that 
all meetings and gatherings for religious worship other than 
those of the Church of England were unlawful, and under this 
law the Quakers and other nonconformists were persecuted. 
Penn was arrested among others for addressing a meeting in 
one of the streets of London. Having studied law he con- 
ducted his own case and so ably that the jury refused to con- 
vict him. The judge tried to intimidate the jury and force 
them to bring in a verdict pleasing to himself. Penn pro- 
tested against this violation of the principle of fairness and 
justice, and the jury stood firm. In this bold fight Penn 
really won a victory that meant a great deal for the liberties 
of his countrymen for all time, and he showed the quiet 
firmness that characterized all his conduct when matters of 
principle were involved. 

The King's Debt. Penn had inherited from his father a 
debt owed by the king, and he finally obtained a grant of land 



Forty-two William Penn 209 

in America in payment of this obligation. The land granted 
him was named Pennsylvania, and by the terms of the 
charter Penn was its absolute owner and governor. The 
charater was granted in 1681, and in the following year Penn 
sailed for America to take possession. Even before reaching 
America he had issued a proclamation stating the conditions 
of government of the new territory, and these conditions 
were so fair to all concerned as to be a marvel to the men of 
that time. No man could have more land than he really 
could make use of. The rights of the Indians were especially 
safeguarded so that unprincipled traders could not cheat 
them or deprive them of their just rights. This was par- 
ticularly remarkable at that time, when most men regarded 
the native inhabitants of such lands as fair game for all sorts 
of injustice and oppression. 

Penn's Meeting with the Indians. One of the first things 
that Penn did upon landing in America was to meet these 
native subjects of his. The meeting took place at Shacka- 
maxon on the Delaware river. It was a strange scene. On 
the one hand were Penn and a small company of Quakers, 
unarmed, Penn distinguished from the rest only by a blue 
sash about his waist; on the other, a great company of sav- 
ages, fully armed and able to wipe out this little company 
of white men in a moment. 

But they had already learned that these white men were 
different from most they had known. A chief advanced from 
the rest and put a small horn on his head as a signal that this 
spot was sacred. At once all the Indians threw down their 
weapons and seated themselves. Penn then stepped forward 
with a parchment on which were written the terms of his 
treaty with them. He told them that they were all children 
of the same Great Spirit, and that he desired that all should 
live together in peace, brotherly kindness and good will. 
He then solemnly laid the parchment upon the ground in 
token that the soil was common to both parties. Thus was 
concluded a treaty begun and finished in peace, and one of 
the very few treaties ever made with the Indians which was 
never violated by the white men. The great elm tree under 
which the meeting was held was long considered a sacred spot, 
and so highly did the memory of Penn come to be regarded 
that when, in 1755, the British army was encamped near this 



210 



Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 




William Penn. 



spot, their general stationed a guard about this tree to prevent 
the soldiers from cutting any of its branches for fire-wood. 

Keeping the Faith. Penn remained governor of Pennsyl- 
vania throughout the rest of his 
life and the province was pur- 
chased from his heirs by the 
British government in 1776. 
He had troubles and hardships 
enough in his old age. One well- 
loved son died, and the remain- 
ing one caused him great anxiety 
and sorrow by a wild and dissi- 
pated life; his enemies, who 
hated him for his religious prin- 
ciples and his power, were con- 
stantly attacking him, and once 
succeeded in having him re- 
moved as governor of Pennsyl- 
vania for a short time. He lost 
a great deal of money through 
the neglect of his agents. But through it all he remained the 
same upright, kind, just and generous Christian man. The 
name of the great city he founded suggests his character, for 
Philadelphia means Brotherly Love. Few names in the his- 
tory of our country are worthy of higher honor, and the prin- 
ciples for which Penn stood would make a better and happier 
nation for us all, if they were more generally followed. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story and look up in your United States 
history or other books all that you can learn about the found- 
ing of Pennsylvania and Penn's dealings with the Indians. 

2. What kind of influences surrounded Penn's early life ? 

3. How does the life of William Penn illustrate Jas. 1 : 12? 

4. What was remarkable about Penn's government of 
Pennsylvania and the Indians? 

5. What difference would it have made in the history of our 
country if every one had dealt with the Indians in the same 
spirit that Penn did? 

6. What suggestions might we take from the example of 
Penn for the treatment of foreigners who come to our country 
now? 



Forty-three George T. Angel I 211 

7. Do you know of any cases in which the principle of 
fairness is violated in our treatment of foreigners ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Write a story of William Penn and the settlement of Pennsylvania, 
illustrating it with what pictures you can find, such as Penn's Treaty 
with the Indians (Brown No. 2250); Penn's Home; The Treaty Tree; 
and a map of Pennsylvania which you can either draw or cut out of a 
map of the United States. 

9. Write down some of the benefits that you think would come if 
the principles of William Penn were followed out more fully in the 
life of your own town or city or in the nation. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn the motto of this lesson and Jas. 1:12; also some of the 
following extracts from Penn's writings. 

" If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak 
twice the better for it." 

11 Let nothing be lost, said our Saviour; but that is lost which is 
misused." 

" Seek not to be rich but to be happy. The one lies in bags; the 
other in content." 

11 Nothing needs a trick but a trick. Sincerity hates one." 



Lesson 43. GEORGE T. ANGELL. Who "Spoke for Those 
that Cannot Speak for Themselves. " 

Born June 5, 1823; died Mar. 16, 1909. 

11 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall 
fall on the ground without your Father." Mt. 10:29. 

" He giveth to the beast his food, 
And to the young ravens which cry." Ps. 147: 9. 

" A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; 
But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." Prov. 1 2 : 10. 

A Youthful Champion. On a crowded street in one of our 
large cities a crowd stood one day watching the efforts of a 
splendid pair of horses as they struggled to drag a too heavily 
loaded wagon out of a deep mud-hole into which the hind 
wheels had slid. The horses were straining and plunging, 
while the driver upon the wagon-scat was lashing furiously 
at them with his heavy whip. The crowd of bystanders, 



212 Heroes of the Faith 

which was growing larger ever}' moment, looked on with 
varying comments, but nothing else. One man told the 
driver that he had too much of a load on his wagon ; another 
volunteered the information that he was a brute to pound his 
horses so; a number of others laughed and jeered at his pre- 
dicament. Suddenly a little curly-headed chap, poorly 
dressed, but alive and energetic, dodged through the crowd 
and ran straight to the horses, with uplifted hand. " Quit 
pounding yer team, and come down here, and we'll give ye a 
lift," he cried; then, with an imperious wave of his hand to 
the crowd on the sidewalk, '' Come on out here, some of you 
fellows, and grab hold of these wheels." The crowd laughed, 
then some one said, " Good for you, sonny !" and half a dozen 
of them obeyed his command. The little fellow ran to the 
horses' heads, stroked their noses a moment, then stepped 
one side. " Xow then, hist !" and to the driver, " Drop yer 
whip, and talk to 'em." The driver grinned sheepishly, 
gathered up the reins and spoke to his team; a dozen strong 
arms strained at the spokes, and the wagon rolled out onto 
firm ground. " You're all right, kid," said one of the men; 
" who are you, a junior member of the force?" pointing to a 
five-pointed star pinned to the boy's blouse. " Go on, that's 
mv Band of Mercy badge," replied the boy. " You'd better 
wear one of them yourself, and then you won't stand around 
and let a fellow beat his team to death," and with that he 
made off down the street. 

The Founder of the Bands of Mercy. Perhaps some of those 
who read this storv have seen or worn one of these five-pointed 
stars with "KINDNESS, JUSTICE. MERCY TO ALL" 
engraved upon it, and the words " Glory to God, Peace on 
Earth, Good Will to All " upon the inner circle. If so, you 
ought to know more about the man who first started these 
bands in the public schools of our country, and who did more 
than any other one man to educate people to be kind instead 
of cruel to the dumb brutes of God's world. George T. Angell 
was the son of a minister in Southbridge, Mass. His father 
died while he was very young, and his mother had to work 
hard to support herself and her son and give him an education. 
George helped, too, and from the time he was fourteen prac- 
tically made his own way, working his way through college 
and a law course. He became a successful lawyer, and his 



Forty-three 



George T. Angell 



218 



skill in this line was always at the disposal of those who needed 
it most. He took many a case for clients who could afford 
to pay but little, but who were in danger of being wronged 
because of their lack of ability to defend themselves. 

A Defender of Dumb Brutes. From childhood, George 
Angell was fond of animals — horses, cattle, dogs, cats, all of 
them. He was constantly interfering to save them from ill- 
treatment, and he had plenty of chances to do so. People 
did not think so much about the rights of animals as they do 
to-day, and many practices were common that were exceed- 
ingly inhuman. Cattle were taken to market on trains with- 
out food or water, they were driven into pens at the slaughter- 
houses with pitchforks, their sides bleeding from the savage 
thrusts. Calves were bled several times before being killed, 
to make their flesh more delicate, and sheep that had been 
shorn of their fleeces were allowed to stand shivering in cold 
weather before they were killed for mutton. 

A Cruel Race. The incident that especially aroused Mr. 
Angell, and led to the formation of the Massachusetts Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was a race in which 
two horses were driven about forty miles, drawing two men 
each over rough roads. The winning horse dropped dead 
at the finish, and the other died soon after. Mr. Angell 
wrote to the newspapers protesting 
against such inhumanity, and ask- 
ing others to unite with him in 
putting a stop to such things. 
Some of the leading citizens of 
Boston responded to the call, and 
the. society was formed. 

A Campaign of Education. Mr. 

Angell saw that the first thing to 

do was to educate the people and 

let them know of the cruelties that 

were being practised daily. He 

therefore started a paper, Our l 

Dumb Animals, which has been 

published ever since. In the first 

issue of the paper he desired to 

give the public accurate information concerning the conditions 

that existed in the slaughter-houses of the city. Two men 







George T. Angell. 



214 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

whom he employed to get the information for him backed out 
at the last moment, fearing personal injury. Just at this time 
a tall, hard-looking man came into the office and handed him 
ten dollars, saying he wanted to join his society. He gave his 
address as Brighton. " Do you know anything about the 
slaughter-houses out there?" asked Mr. Angell. " I ought to," 
was the reply. " I've run one on 'em for twenty years, and 
I've done enough cruelty to animals; now I'm going to see 
if I can't do 'em some good." Mr. Angell got just the infor- 
mation he wanted, and two hundred thousand copies of it 
went out to the people, thereby helping greatly to correct the 
abuses that existed. 

Educating the Children. Mr. Angell saw that the best 
place to begin educating people to be kind was in the schools, 
for children naturally love animals and are kind to them 
when they stop to think about it. So he began organizing 
the Bands of Merc} 7 all over the country. He lectured before 
teachers' meetings and prepared lessons on kindness to ani- 
mals, to be used in the schools. He went further, and secured 
in many places the organization of Legions of Honor in the 
schools, with a five-fold pledge: 

1. To speak no falsehood; 

2. To use no profane language ; 

3. To show respect to the aged; 

4. To protect from cruelty all, both human and dumb ; 

5. To endeavor at all times to maintain the right. 

An Important Lecture. On one occasion Mr. Angell had 
engaged a hall at Brattleboro, Vt., to lecture on kindness to 
animals. On reaching the hall a little early, he found it dark, 
and only the janitor and half a dozen boys present. " Why 
don't you light up the hall?" he asked. " Thought I'd wait 
and see if anybody was coming," was the reply. " Why, 
here's half a dozen boys, already," said Mr. Angell. " You 
ain't a goin' to lectur' to them boys, be ye?" inquired the 
janitor. " Certainly I am," said Mr. Angell. " One of these 
boys may be governor of Vermont one of these days, for all 
I know." The hall was lighted, an audience gathered, and 
there is now a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 
in that city. 

Other Services. Mr. Angell did not confine himself solely 



Forty-three George T. Angell 215 

to the protection of animals, but did some very important 
things in attacking the manufacture and sale of adulterated 
foods, drugs, and other articles. The worst of such evils is 
that the poor suffer the most from them, the lives of little 
babies being often sacrificed to impure milk and drugs from 
the sale of which men make themselves wealthy. In attack- 
ing these evils Mr. Angell incurred the enmity of large cor- 
porations, and once found himself being followed about the 
streets by a man who had already been tried for murder, and 
whom he suspected to be in the employ of those whose prac- 
tices he was attacking. But none of these things ever caused 
him to hesitate or desist from his efforts to protect those who 
needed defense, whether it were the dumb brutes who could 
not speak for themselves, or the poor people w r ho did not 
know how to speak for themselves or defend themselves 
effectively. 

An Honored Life. Mr. Angell lived to a good old age, work- 
ing hard all the time, and frequently harder than his strength 
would really permit. He traveled all over the country, giving 
lectures, writing for the papers, publishing books and pam- 
phlets, and in every way possible educating people to be 
thoughtful of the weak and defenseless. At his death thou- 
sands of people all over this country were glad to do him honor 
for the good he had accomplished. Of him may well be said 
those lines of the poet Coleridge, 

" He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and small, 
For the dear God who loveth us, 
He made and loveth all." 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story, and look up whatever you can 
find about the work of the Society for the Prevention oi 
Cruelty to Animals, the American Humane Education Society, 
and the Bands of Mercy. 

2. How did Mr. Angell first come to found these societies'" 

3. What other humane services did he render? 

4. What laws are there in your city or town for the protec- 
tion of animals? 

5. What violations of these laws have you noticed? 



216 Heroes of the Faith Lessm 

6. What can you and other boys and girls do to secure 
kinder treatment of animals in your community? 

7. "What can you find in the Bible, other than the mottoes 
selected for this lesson, about animals, or birds, and God's 
care for them? See, for instance, Gen. 2:19; Deut. 25:4; 
Ps. 104:25-27; Lu. 12:24. Can you find others? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Write a short sketch of Mr. Angell and his work. Appropriate 
illustrations for this lesson would be some of Landseer's animal pic- 
tures, especially " A Member of the Humane Society " (Brown Xo. 101). 
Or if you have a Kodak picture of one of your own pets, use that. 

9. Write something about your favorite pet. 

10. Make a list of the things that are forbidden by law in the way 
of ill-treatment of animals in your town, and note how boys and girls 
may help enforce such laws. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn some one of the mottoes selected for this lesson, or the lines 
from Coleridge at the end, or any selection of your own choice which 
expresses the sentiment of kindness and mercy. 



Lesson 44. FRANCES E. WILLARD. A Pioneer in the 
Higher Education of Women. 

Born Sept. 28, 1839; died Feb. 18, 1898. 

" The path ef the righteous is as the dawning light, 
That shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Prov. 4: 18. 

" Forest Home." Had you chanced about 1850 to pass 
along the Rock River near Janesville, Wis., you would have 
seen a low, rambling cottage covered with clambering vines 
and situated in the midst of a flower garden that was the 
admiration of people for miles around. This was " Forest 
Home." Just inside the front gate you would have noticed a 
tall oak tree on which was nailed a board bearing in large 
black letters these words : 



THE EAGLE'S XEST— BEWARE 



If you had looked up into the top of the tree for the nest, you 
might have seen instead a comfortable seat among the 



Forty-four Frances E. Willard 217 

branches, and on it a delicate, blue-eyed girl, Frances Eliza- 
beth Willard, then eleven years old, busily engaged in study or 
sketching. Her family were recent comers to that portion of 
the great middle West, which only a few years before had 
begun to attract streams of settlers from the Eastern states. 
An older brother, Oliver, and a younger sister, Mary, with the 
parents, made up the members of a singularly happy and 
cultured home. In the spring you might have seen the two 
girls with bags of seed tied to their waists, and hoe in hand, 
helping to plant the garden, not as work but " just for fun." 
A little later you would see one or the other of the girls rid- 
ing the horse when Oliver cultivated the corn. Once when 
Frances was weeding the garden she pulled up, along with the 
weeds, a good-sized snake by the tail, which checked some- 
what her eagerness for that particular work. In the hot 
summer days the girls would carry a large pail of " harvest 
drink," made of water, molasses and ginger, to the thirsty 
toilers in the field. Unlike many people of that time, Frances' 
father would allow no alcoholic drinks in the home or on the 
farm. In this healthful life, practising nearly every outdoor 
sport, learning to love all that was good in nature and the best 
in books, the Willard children spent twelve happy years. 

A Born Leader. In the Milwaukee Female College, where 
Frances remained only a few months, she soon found herself 
the center of a large and charming circle of friends. To one 
of them she became devotedly attached, and never rested 
until, like her, she heard every week read out after her own 
name, " ten, ten," which meant perfect scholarship and con- 
duct. That sturdy independence which marked her mature 
years had a fine illustration on her eighteenth birthday, when 
she seated herself on the porch at home and began reading 
Scott's Ivanhoe. When her father, who had strictly forbidden 
novel reading, found what the book was, he was naturally 
amazed, and still more so at her defense: " I am eighteen 
to-day, and I do not have to obey any laws but those of God 
hereafter. In my judgment Ivanhoe is good to be read." He 
was on the point of taking the book from her by force, when, 
thinking better of it, he said laughingly, " Well, we will try 
to learn God's laws, and obey them together, my child." In 
college Frances quickly became the acknowledged leader in 
scholarship and in all the activities of college life. While as 



218 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

fond of a good time as any girl to-day, and as eager for a joke 
or a romp, her teachers could always rely on her good sense 
to draw a sharp line between innocent fun and frolic and the 
silly or harmful escapades in which students are often tempted 
to indulge. 

Religious Convictions. It is impossible to understand 
Frances Willard's later life without some knowledge of those 
deep religious convictions that formed a part of her inmost 
life and ruled all her conduct. She had been brought up in a 
home where religion was not only a matter of belief but of 
daily practice. As a lisping child she had learned the entire 
first chapter of John's gospel. Her father's favorite lullaby 
song when he rocked her to sleep was the old hymn, " A charge 
to keep I have," one stanza of which was certainly prophetic 
of the great future that lay before the little girl in his arms. 

" To serve the present age, 
My calling to fulfil, 
Oh, may it all my powers engage, 
To do my Master's will." 

In the closest and sweetest companionship with her mother, 
she learned to see God in every fragrant flower and singing 
bird, and to set before herself those high ideals which marked 
all her thinking and conduct. And yet it was not until she 
was nineteen years old, and recovering from a severe sickness, 
that she deliberately and fully gave herself to God and united 
with the Methodist church in Evanston, 111. This was the 
beginning of that saintly life whose sweetness and power were 
to be felt not only in her own land but in other lands as well. 

A Gifted Teacher. When Frances Willard was twenty-one, 
she resolved to make her own way in the world. " I have 
remained in the nest a full-grown bird long enough," she said. 
It was not merely her wish to be independent that led her to 
take this step, but a feeling that she needed hard discipline 
in order to make the most of herself. Few employments 
aside from teaching were then open to young women, so there 
was little difficulty in making a choice. Not until she had 
obtained her first position in a little red schoolhouse ten miles 
from Chicago did she tell her father, who at first strongly 
opposed her purpose, but was soon won over by her arguments. 
This was the beginning of her brilliant life as a teacher, which 
covered sixteen years, and in which she advanced rapidly 



Forty-four Frances E. Willard 219 

from the little country schoolhouse to the presidency of 
Evanston College for Ladies, she being the first woman 'ever 
to hold such a position. Here she grappled successfully 
with many hard problems in education. Her institution of 
the Roll of Honor Club showed how well she understood the 
art of government. After a month's perfect observance of 
all the rules a pupil might become a member, and after being 
tested a sufficient length of time promoted to the self-governed 
class, who enjoyed the same freedom as the teachers them- 
selves. So successful was the experiment that at the end of 
a year twelve girls were self-governed and all the rest on the 
Roll of Honor. 

Set Free for Larger Work. After the union of the Evanston 
College for Ladies with the Northwestern University, differ- 
ences of opinion as to matters of government arose between 
Miss Willard and the university officials. These differences 
were of such nature that she could no longer in justice to her 
conscientious convictions retain her connection with the 
institution. The crisis was the most painful through which 
she was ever called to pass. Without knowing where she 
was going or what was before her, she gave up what she had 
hoped would be a position for life, and left a career in which 
she had won brilliant success as well as the passionate love 
and loyalty of the young women under her care. She did not 
know then that all her past life had been merely a preparation 
for larger things, and that the uprooting process was needed 
to set her free for the supreme work of her life. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. In addition to the lesson story, read all you can find 
about Frances E. Willard in books or sketches of her life. Al- 
most every public library and many private homes will con- 
tain the story of her life by Anna A. Gordon. Get what in- 
formation you can about Wisconsin in 1846 when Frances' 
parents moved there. 

2. What was the character of Frances Willard's early 
home? 

3. What quality did she reveal in early life that afterwards 
made her famous? 

4. How Hid her religious life unfold itself? 

5. How did she show her sturdy independence? 



220 Heroes of the Faith L***™ 

6. What was her success as a teacher? 

7. Why did she leave this work? 

v Mention some of the many new lines of work that have 

opened to women since Frances Willard chose teaching. To 

what did she owe her success as a teacher? Can genuine suc- 

rss be won by those who have not her brilliant powers' 

What constitutes success"' 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

9. Write the :_^:ne :: J: ;_r~ Z Tillard " at the top of a new 
j Are. and add the dates :: her birth and death. For a picture of her, 
^r: if : : : s : :^r Brown X;. 71. 

10 jtes :: interestirjg items :t information about her early 

life found in books and period:: 

11. Write brief statement of some reasons why you think Frances 
Willard' s pupils from first :: last almost idolized her. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory Ps. 146: 1-6. This - safari wa s the first Scripture 

read in connec:: m with the men 5 Temperance L>usa ie in Ohio, and 
came to be adopted and known as the ** Crusade Psalm." 



Lesson 45. FRANCES E. WILLARD. Leader of the White 

Ribbon Host. 

" Many daug hte rs have done worthily, 
But thou exceHest :hem all. ' ' Pre v. 31:29. 

The Woman's Temperance Crusade. c months be- 

fore Miss ~ broke her connection with the Xorth- 

westeni University a remarkable temperance movement 
;ed at Hillsboro, Ohio, and swept like a prairie fire over the 
s and towns of the s ad into large parts of the coun- 

; : acteristic feature was the f re : e s sions of women, 
refined, cultured, dc who marched from their homes to 

the saloons singing hymn s praying and pleading with the rum 
sellers to give up their wicked traffic. In fifty days it had 
driven every saloon out : two hundred and fifty towns and 
villages. IC .ard became deeply interested, and read 

rything she could get hold of that told about the m: 
ment. 






Frances E. Willard 



221 



The Choice of a New Career. So enthus about tem- 

perance did Miss Willard become that after making two public 
addresses she exclaimed, "To serve 
such a cause would be utterly en- 
thralling, if I only had more time — 
if I were more free." That free- 
dom came, was thrust upon her. as 
it were, by the harrowing conflict 
with the university officials which 
led her to sever her connection 
with the institution. Without 
knowing where the money would 
come from with which to defray 
her own and her mother's expen 
she threw herself heart and soul 
into the movement, even going 
Bast tc study the situation and 
to confer with the leaders. One 
day while visiting in Cambridge, 
Mass.. she received two letters, one offering her the position 
of lady principal in a fashionable school in Xew York I 
with a liberal salary and freedom to choose her own work. 
The other begged her to take the presidency of the Chicago 
branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which 
lacked organization and could offer little financial inducement. 
Miss Willard chose the latter at once, and so entered at last 
upon the great work of her life. 




Frances E. Willard. 



Genius for Organization. That rare capacity for organiza- 
tion which showed itself when as a young girl Frances Willard 
organized herself and her sister Mary into several " ck: 
and which found increasing expression in her work as teacher 
and college president, reached its fullest development in the 
cause of temperance. Every vital principle that enters into 
the upbuilding of modern trusts she thought out and made 
of in the fight against intemperance and vice and for the pro- 
tection of family, home, and native land. The Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union was a comparatively new and 
somewhat despised organization when she entered it. But 
under her inspiring leadership it became on the one hand the 
most hated, and on the other the most bl 
agency in the country, simply because she made it the most 



222 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

powerful. In five years she was chosen president of the 
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and as such 
visited and spoke in every city and town of ten thousand 
inhabitants in the United States and in many of smaller size. 
In 1SS3 she traveled thirty thousand miles, and for twelve 
vears she averaged one meeting a day with only six weeks a 
vear for mother and home. The railway train became her 
almost constant workshop, in which addresses were prepared, 
reports and editorials written, a huge correspondence at- 
tended to, and larger plans devised for the scores of interests 
related to her main work. Sightseeing was out of the question 
when the time could possibly be used for an address or the 
organization of a Union. " The goal of her consecrated 
ambition was a universal sisterhood united in a common 
cause, and she was deaf to all sounds and blind to all sights 
that might lure her from that goal." Wherever she went 
Unions sprang up as if by magic. Most of the state and ter- 
ritorial Unions in the South and far West owed their existence 
to her. This success was due not only to her rare personal 
magnetism and to the new faith which she inspired in the 
cause for which she spoke, but to her almost resistless power 
as a harmonizer. Her first tour in the Southern States gave 
the women, sitting crushed amidst the wreckage of their past, 
the first ray of hope for the future. It became the direct 
means of bringing together, for the first time after the war, 
the women of the North and the South, side by side in a great 
convention. 

Woman's Suffrage. Only two years had passed when Miss 
Willard became thoroughly convinced that the only solution 
for the temperance problem lay in giving women the right to 
vote, at least on questions that related to the liquor traffic. 
None had suffered so much from its ruinous effects on the 
home as woman, and none, she felt, if given a chance, would 
rise so powerfully for its suppression. When this conviction 
came to Miss Willard it was coupled with another equally 
strong — that she must be the public advocate of woman's 
suffrage. Her friends advised against it. She was refused 
permission to speak on the subject, but some months later, 
at the annual convention of the National Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union in 1876, she took a firm stand on the sub- 
ject. She was told that she had thrown away all her chances 



Forty-five Frances E. Willard 223 

for leadership, but only three years later that organization 
declared in favor of the ballot for women, and since then no 
other organization has done so much to shape public opinion 
in this direction. 

Founder of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union. Miss Willard's rare powers of discernment enabled 
her to see in the small and despised organization with which 
she had connected herself an instrument for making woman's 
power felt around the world. Not until 1883, eight years 
after her first utterance on the subject, was the time ripe for 
an attempt to realize the idea of a world's Union. No sooner, 
however, was it suggested than women everywhere took hold 
of it with enthusiasm, and now the organization is firmly 
established in almost every land in every continent. It 
seeks to protect the home from intoxicating beverages, 
opium and social vice. One of its great achievements was 
the monster " Polyglot Petition," which represented in one 
way or another the signatures of seven and a half millions 
of people in fifty nationalities, and which was presented in 
succession to the rulers of all those countries. Of Frances 
Willard, Whittier said truthfully and beautifully: 

" She knew the power of banded ill, 
But felt that love was stronger still, 
And organized for doing good 
The world's united womanhood." 

Rest at Last. For the space of twenty-four years Miss 
Willard gave her strength with passionate devotion to the 
cause that she loved. When she ceased from toil, millions 
in this and other lands had been inspired and lifted by her 
gentle and persuasive ministry. In 1905 Congress met in the 
national Statuary Hall in the Capitol at Washington to 
accept from the State of Illinois a statue of one of her most 
illustrious citizens. It represented a woman, the type of all 
that is best, purest and noblest in American womanhood — 
Frances E. Willard. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Follow the directions given in the preceding lesson. 
Find out all you can in regard to the work of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union in your own city or town, also 
about the work of the National and the World's Union. Get 



224 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

what information you can about the Woman's Temple in 
Chicago. 

2. What was the nature of the Woman's Temperance Cru- 
sade? 

3. How did Miss Willard come to join the temperance 
movement ? 

4. What remarkable powers of hers were now given full 
play? 

5. Why did Miss Willard advocate women's right to vote? 

6. Howdid her influence become world-wide? 

7. What do you consider the most striking trait in Miss 
Willard's character? Why is total abstinence from intoxi- 
cating drinks a wise course to pursue? Why is it the only 
safe course? What warnings against the use of intoxicating 
liquors can you find in the Bible? What would be the prob- 
able effect on the liquor traffic if women were given the right 
to vote? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

8. Continue the notes on the previous lesson by adding further in- 
teresting items of information from books or periodicals. 

9. Make a list of the various organizations and reforms to which 
Miss Willard gave time and thotight. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Commit to memory the remainder (vss. 7-10) of the Crusade Psalm. 



Lesson 46. HEROES OF TO-DAY. Men who Count not 
their Lives Dear unto Themselves. 

•' Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 
Let all that ye do be done in love." 1 Cor. 16: 13, 14. 

The Heroic Spirit Still Alive. Sometimes, when we read 
the accounts of great men and women who have lived in 
days gone by, and have done heroic things and made great 
names for themselves, we are apt to think that they were of 
different stuff than men are now, and that if we had lived in 
those days and places, we would have been heroes too. 
But there are heroes living to-day, some of whom we have 



Forty-six 



Heroes of To-day 



225 



seen and heard about, who are doing just as noble deeds 
as any that have ever been wrought, and it may do us good 
to know something about them. 

The Hero of the Northern Seas. Some years ago the 
people of the Labrador coast, a bleak and barren line of 
rocks, beaten by the storms and worn smooth and bare by 
the ice, were amazed to see a young 
doctor, who was also a master mari- 
ner, appear in their harbors in a little 
steam launch. The navigation of those 
waters is accompanied by dangers that 
even the bravest of a brave and sturdy 
race of fishermen often hesitate to en- 
counter. They do encounter them 
because they have to in order to make 
their living catching the fish that you 
and I want to eat. But this man 
outdid the bravest of them in the 
way he faced the fiercest storms, not 
for his own gain, but in order to 
bring healing and comfort to those 
in sore need. There are but very 
few doctors on the Labrador coast, and some of those who 
have been there were hardly worthy of the name. The 
people live in isolation and poverty, and are quite helpless 
in the face of illness. It had been no uncommon thing for 
men and women and little children to lie month after month 
in suffering and pain, and even to die because no doctor was 
at hand who could cure them. This young doctor, whoso 
name is Wilfred T. Grenfell, heard of the condition in which 
these people lived, and came over from England to give 
himself to the work of the Royal National Mission to Deep 
Sea Fishermen. For several years he has been going up 
and down this coast, in his hospital ship, Strathcona, during 
the summer, and by dog-train and sledge during the winter. 
He has faced the perils of storm and tempest, fog and freezing 
cold. He has broken trails through the winter snows with 
his dog-train for six hundred miles up and down that barren 
coast, in order to bring rescue to those who were sick. On 
one occasion he went through the iee and drifted for more 
than twenty-four hours upon an ice pan, until rescued by 




Wilfred T. Grenfell. 



226 Heroes of the Faith 



Lesson 



some fishermen in a boat which they forced through the ice 
at the peril of their own lives. Dr. Grenfell has faced the 
wrath of greedy traders who were preying upon the help- 
lessness of the people and keeping them poor. By the 
establishment of co-operative stores, he has helped these 
men to help themselves and get free from the grasp of the 
traders, and all of this has been without any hope of gain 
other than the reward of knowing that he has ministered 
in the spirit of Christ to those in sore need. He has two 
mottoes, one, "As the Lord wills, whether for wreck or service. 
I am about His business "; and the other, " What a man 
does for the love of God, he does differently." 

The Heroes of Cherry Mine. Cherry is a little town in the 
state of Illinois, mostly inhabited by coal miners and their 
families. They are Scotch, English, German, French, Irish, 
Polish, Scandinavian, and no one knows how many other 
nationalities, but when the mine caught fire in November, 
1909, the differences of birth disappeared and most of them 
proved themselves men. Two great shafts run down into 
the ground to the galleries of the coal veins, the deepest one 
being more than five hundred feet below ground. Down 
there are stables where the mules are kept, that haul the 
car-loads of coal to the shafts, up which they are lifted on 
the cages that run like elevators to the surface. A car-load 
of hay was sent down for the stables, and in some way the 
hay caught fire from a torch. Before it could be extin- 
guished, the timbers that supported the walls of the mine 
had caught fire, and soon it became evident that the lives of 
five hundred men were in serious danger. There were two 
perils in such a mine fire, one that the gases from the burning 
coal will explode, the other that the fresh air will be burned 
out and the men will suffocate. Andrew Lettson, a boy 
from the lower vein, who helped to put out the fire on the 
car of hay, ran up to the second vein, lifted the trap-door, 
and saw the flames and smoke in the air-passage and air- 
shaft, already nearly cutting off the chance of escape. He 
might have gone on and been safe. Instead, he turned 
back, went down again to the lowest vein, sent a mule-driver 
to warn the men who were nearest at hand of their danger, 
while he himself went back three hundred yards to where 
more were at work. He got out, and with him many others 



Forty-six Heroes of To-day 227 

who would otherwise have perished. Some one tried to 
praise him for his bravery, but he replied, " Why, I had 
my chance, and I thought the rest ought to have the same." 
Lettson, Thomas Hewitt, the mule-driver, and John Brown, 
who helped Lettson extinguish the burning hay, saved the 
lives of all who got out of the third vein that day. Hewitt 
was the last man to leave that vein alive. He urged Brown 
to follow, but Brown stood back in the midst of the smoke 
and the horror, and said, " I won't go until every man is out 
of this part of the mine." As they came up to the level of 
the second vein they found men streaming out from the 
passages into the runway leading to the bottom of the shaft, 
up which the cage was bearing men to safety. Here Lettson 
stopped and held a light at the turn of the runway to show 
the struggling men the way to safety. Another lad, named 
Vickers, stood at another turn holding a light until it went 
out. When that light went out, it meant that the air had 
already gotten so bad that a little worse would mean death. 
Some one gave him another light, and that went out. Then 
he got a lantern and managed to hang that on a nail just as 
a blast of smoke and fire-damp drove him stumbling, stran- 
gling toward the exit. As he reached it he fell fainting, but 
some one seized him, saying, " Take my hand, brother," 
and dragged him on into safety. 

Meanwhile there was agony of fear above ground. Thick 
black smoke was rolling from the mouth of the shaft, and 
men, women and children were rushing to the mine. The 
women stood helpless, not knowing whether they would ever 
again see those who were dear to them down in that dreadful 
pit. Of the men, many tore themselves from the detaining 
hands of wives and children, to step upon the little cage 
and go down into the smoke and flame in the hope of rescuing 
others, and many of them never saw the sunlight again. 
Down they went into the blackness where they could find 
men only by stumbling over their prostrate bodies, and then 
dragging them to the cage and throwing them on to be 
hauled up again. And so it went on, until at last the lire 
had gotten so bad that the only hope of saving anything 
more was by covering the mouth of the two shafts and sealing 
them in order to smother the flames. This was done, ami 
the women and children whose husbands and sons and 
brothers were still down there lull hope die in their hearts. 



228 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Meanwhile deeds of heroism were going on down below. 
Two mine bosses, Walter Waite and George Eddy, had gone 
so far into the mine to warn others, and send them out to 
safety that they could not get back by the same road. Guid- 
ing a small party of men, they started back by the last 
possible road to the main shaft, when suddenly they saw 
three mules drop dead just ahead of them. To the ex- 
perienced miners this told the story of the deadly fire-damp. 
Turning to Mr. Eddy, Mr. AVaite said, " We are caught like 
rats in a trap." They went back to a spot where the air 
seemed fresher. There they were joined by two others 
who had made their way almost to the main shaft, only to 
find it a roaring furnace. Mr. Waite led the party, now 
twenty in number, into a gallery where the air was still 
fresh, and there they built a barrier to keep out the fire- 
damp, although at the same time they sealed themselves in. 
Then they sat down to wait. There was nothing else to do 
but wait, until the end came. After a time TTaite said he 
thought it would be a good time to have some kind of a 
service, for if ever men needed the comforts of religion and 
faith in God, they did. He offered a prayer. And then 
his voice rang out in 

14 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee, 
Let the water and the blood 
From Thy side, a healing flood, 
Be of sin the double cure, 
Save from wrath and make me pure." 

They all joined in. Then they sang other hymns, anything 
they knew, Mr. Waite told stories, even humorous ones. 
He did everything he could to keep up the courage of those 
about him. They suffered from hunger, and worse still, 
from thirst. One man claimed that the strongest, who had 
the best chance of living, ought to have what little water 
there was, as the weak and sick would die any way. But 
the manhood of the rest arose against this, and the weak 
were given protection. One man was caught stealing an- 
other's turn at the little hollow where the water dripped 
down. The rest persuaded him not to do that any more. 
They persuaded him with an axe-handle. But with a fine 
sense of chivalry not one of the party would ever give that 
man's name when they all got above ground again. il Let 



forty-six Heroes of To-day 229 

what happened down there go," was all they would say. 
The end of the story is that after eight days of imprisonment 
the party were saved. Mr. Waite could tell, by placing his 
hand at the barrier, when the mine was unsealed. On the 
second Saturday morning he felt fresh air. A hole was made 
large enough for a man to crawl out. Four of the strongest 
went ahead to test the air. Four more waited by the barrier, 
ready to rush out and drag the first four back, if they were 
overcome. If the first four found an open passageway and 
good air, they were to whistle twice. After what seemed 
an eternity the whistles were heard. The men at the barrier 
sent back a cheer to their comrades, and all started to creep 
along the corridor. Three hours after the first four had 
started out, Waite saw two little lights ahead. They belonged 
to the men with the oxygen helmets who had come in to 
rescue them. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the lesson story, and then read whatever else you 
can find about these heroes. The story of Dr. Grenfell is 
told in the following books, Dr. GrenfelVs Parish, by Norman 
Duncan ; The Harvest of the Sea, Off the Rocks, Vikings of 
To-day, Adrift on an Ice Pan, all by Dr. Grenfell. Norman 
Duncan has also written an intensely interesting story, Dr. 
Luke of the Labrador, which gives a good idea of the condi- 
tions of life on the Labrador coast. Miss Edith Wyatt has 
written a thrilling account of the Heroes of the Cherry Mine 
in McClure's Magazine for March, 1910. 

2. Tell the stories of Dr. Grenfell and of the heroes of the 
Cherry mine disaster. 

3. How does the quality of their courage compare with that 
of men who do heroic deeds in the thick of a battle? 

4. Read Mt. 25:34-40 and Jo. 15:13, and note how they 
apply to the deeds narrated in this lesson. 

5. What is the name of the work represented by Dr. Gren- 
fell, and how' can we help in it? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Write a short story of Grenfell or of the Cherry mine heroes, 
whichever one appeals most to you. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Mt. 25:34-40 and Jo. i:>: 13. 



230 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

Lesson 47. HEROINES OF TO-DAY. Leaders in Loving 

Service. 

''This woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she 
did." Acts 9:36. 

A Gracious Ministry. If you were to go to Chicago and 
visit Hull-House on South Halsted Street, you would find 
it an institution standing in the midst of one of the crowded 
sections of the city, surrounded on every hand with the 
homes of people who have little of this world's goods and little 
of the inspiration and opportunity which money or social 
position bring to people. Entering the reception hall of the 
main building, you would probably find a number of people 
who looked as if they were waiting to see some one. You 
might see in one corner of the hall, or perhaps in another 
room, a quiet, refined, resourceful looking woman, a glance 
at whom would make you feel at once that here was one to 
be trusted and loved. Gentleness, refinement, poise and a 
sense of power are the marked characteristics of her per- 
sonality. And if you should watch her as she counsels with 
some weary mother, harassed over the difficulties into which 
husband or son had fallen, or perplexed over the struggle 
to make ends meet, or with some young girl troubled over 
the difficulties that beset one who tries to make her way in 
the world without the protection of such homes as most of 
us enjoy, you might see that she had a word of sound advice 
for each, and a marvelous resourcefulness in meeting diffi- 
culties. And if you watched closely the faces of those with 
whom she talked, you might get some glimpse of the reason 
why hundreds and thousands of women all over that great 
city and, indeed, all over this country, regard Jane Addams 
with a feeling little short of adoration. And if you read the 
account of her life, beginning in the American Magazine 
for April, 1910, you will see that she left a home of comfort 
and beauty, and a life which might have been full of ease 
and enjoyment, to cast in her lot with those who needed a 
helping hand, and more of the inspiration for higher living 
than they could possibly find for themselves. So she came 
to Chicago and began to live at Hull-House, as a neighbor 
among neighbors, to get acquainted with the people who work 
and struggle, and to work with them for better things. She 
has been their champion in distress, their deliverer from 



Forty-seven Heroines of To-day 231 

injustice and oppression; best of all, she has been their 
interpreter to those who did not know them and therefore 
were careless of their needs. Little by little she won the 
confidence of those who were at first suspicious of her motives. 
It seemed so hard to understand that one who did not have 
to do so should come to share their life, that people sus- 
pected some hidden motive. But that has gone by now, 
long since. Now, when the working women and girls find 
themselves beset by troubles that they do not know how 
to solve they turn as naturally to Jane Addams as to their 
nearest and dearest. And she has room in her heart for 
them all — the little children who have no good place to play, 
the young girls away from home who do not know how to 
take care of themselves, the hard-working women for whom 
life is an unending round of bitter toil ; she knows their needs, 
and she has helped to meet many of them. If it is a case of 
injustice or oppression, she knows how to fight loyally but 
kindly, until justice is done. If it is a case of providing 
opportunities for recreation for the children, she finds a way 
to the hearts of those who can make such provision. If it 
is just a case of warm-hearted, loving, womanly counsel, 
none can give it better then she. 

It has not been easy work. For most of her life Miss 
Addams has been far from strong, and many a day has to 
be spent in forgetting her own pain and weariness and feeble- 
ness in the joy of lightening the load for others. She has 
not always been appreciated. Many thought her very 
peculiar when she chose to live at Hull-House. Many have 
said unkind things about her when they did not agree with 
her way of understanding duty and Christian service. But 
even that is passing away now, and to-day there is an in- 
creasing number of those who delight to call Jane Addams 
the first woman of America. The inspiration of her life 
has gone out beyond those to whom she ministers most 
directly. She has not only shown higher ideals of life to 
the working girls; she has also inspired many a favored 
woman to use her wealth and intellectual power and social 
resourcefulness for the betterment of the world and the 
uplifting of her less fortunate sisters. 

The Good Angel to the Prisoner. There is another noble 
woman whose name is loved and honored by many in this 




232 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

land, perhaps most of all by those whose misfortune and 
wrongdoing have brought them into prison. This is Mrs. 
Maud Ballington Booth, of the Volunteers of America. Her 

ministrations have been given in full- 
est sympathy to the poor and the 
distressed of every age and both 
sexes. The outcast women of the 
slums, the ragged and helpless chil- 
dren of the tenements, the wretched 
of every kind have learned to bless 
her. But she has done no greater 
work than that of establishing in 
K many of our penitentiaries, the Volun- 
teer Prison League, in which about 
eight thousand men are enrolled. 
Sp;' The object of this work is to help 
these men to live better lives and 

Maud Ballington Booth t ^ those who t fo f 

In her prison costume. The letters <-> 

on Lea-ie are f or the Volunteer Pri6 " cnance to do better after they leave 

the prison. The members of the 
league take a pledge which includes these points: (i) Faith- 
fully to obey the prison regulations; (2^ to refrain from evil 
language or practices while in prison; (j) to live an upright 
life and to endeavor to persuade others to do the same; (4) 
to pray and engage in devotional reading every day. Homes 
have been established, called Hope Halls, to which dis- 
charged prisoners may come, and where they may remain 
until positions are found for them to enable them to get a 
fresh start in life. Many a man has been practically forced 
back into a life of crime, simply because no one would give a 
discharged convict a fair chance for an honest living. Mrs. 
Booth has visited the prisoners, talked with them, counseled 
them, mothered them and loved them with a devotion little 
short of divine. She keeps up a constant correspondence 
with " her boys " both in and out of prison, and some idea 
of the labor this means is seen in the statement that she 
has known what it is to be several hundred letters behind in 
this correspondence. And in the midst of all the scenes 
of misery and crime which she has witnessed, she has moved 
with a womanly dignity and Christian graciousness that 
make her worthy to be called the Good Angel of the Prisoner. 
The Heroine of the Red Cross. Clara Barton is another 



Forty-seven Heroines of To-day 233 * 

name worthy of high honor on the rolls of American woman- 
hood. She began life as a school-teacher, but was not con- 
tent with doing the ordinary work that might have brought 
her an assured income and comparative ease. She saw the 
need of a free school, to reach those not provided for. She 
started one with six pupils and left it with six hundred. 
During the Civil War her heart was touched with the suffer- 
ings of the sick and wounded at the front, and, like Florence 
Nightingale, she determined to do what she could to relieve 
them. She was appointed " lady in charge " of hospitals 
with the Army of the James. Since that time her name 
has been honored among American soldiers as Florence 
Nightingale's was among the English. When the American 
Red Cross Society was formed, Clara Barton was its first 
president. In times of peace its services were no less needed 
than in those of war. Wherever disaster has occurred, from 
fire or flood or earthquake, there the Red Cross has come 
to direct the work of relief and remedy. This society has 
replaced the old methods of hit-or-miss charity, with their 
mistakes and wastefulness, by the organized, systematic 
administration of relief in such manner as to do the most 
good with the least outlay, and to leave people able to take 
care of themselves instead of being pauperized. 

A Teacher of Red Men. Still another name, not so widely 
known, deserves honorable mention among these examples 
of heroines of to-day. Twelve years ago, President McKinley 
appointed a woman, Estelle Reel, to be superintendent of 
Indian Schools, and to assume the difficult task of educating 
these wards of the nation who have suffered so much from 
the neglect and injustice of the white men. She came well 
equipped to this work. As a child in her Illinois home, she 
had heard from missionary cousins of the scenes of adventure 
in the great West, and even then she formed the desire and 
purpose to help educate the Indian. She had some years 1 
experience as a teacher in the West before her chance came. 
She has brought to her work a sympathetic understanding 
of the traits and conditions of this child of nature, and lias 
had rare tact in finding the points at which they may best 
be approached and interested. She lias made the instruc- 
tion in their schools practical. She has traveled long miles 
on horseback to visit them and know them better. One 



234 Heroes of the Faith Lesson 

of the most marvelous things about her is her patience. She 
never gives up. 

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Read the narratives given above, and then see what 
you can find out about these characters elsewhere, or about 
any other heroic examples of womanhood. An account of 
Jane Addams' life is published in the American Magazine, 
beginning with the number for April, 1910. The work of 
Maud Ballington Booth is described in Good Words, vol. 
xlvi (1905), pp. 641ff. Information concerning Clara Bar- 
ton may be found in the Chautauquan, vol. xxii, pp. 725ff, 
and concerning Estelle Reel (now Mrs. Meyer) in Good House- 
keeping, for April, 1910. 

2. Can you think of any woman who has done things that 
are greater than those accomplished by some of these women? 

3. What fine traits of character are illustrated by the women 
mentioned in this lesson? 

4. What ought to be the ideal of life held by every woman 
of education and culture and leisure ? 

5. What chances do you see for real service and heroic 
living on the part of the women and girls of your own com- 
munity ? 

NOTE-BOOK WORK. 

6. Write out a short story of any particular heroine whom you 
admire, either from those mentioned in this lesson or any other of 
whom you know. 

7. Or write a little sketch of the worthy things that women have 
done in public life. 

MEMORY WORK. 

Learn Prov. 31: 10-29. 



Forty-eight Review of Lessons 37-47 285 

Lesson 48. REVIEW OF LESSONS 37-47. 

With this lesson we end our series of studies on heroes of 
the Faith, during which we have become somewhat better 
acquainted with a number of men and women all of whom 
had something in their characters that is heroic. We have 
seen that heroism is made up of various qualities, that it 
includes gentleness as well as strength, and that it has to 
do with peace as well as war, home and private life as well 
as public affairs. In this final review it will be well to gather 
up the impressions that we have received, and make up our 
minds as to just what makes a heroic character. And this 
should lead to the question in the mind of each one: In 
what way can I make my own character more heroic? 

1. Make a list of the characters studied in this quarter, 
with a sentence after each name expressing the trait or deed 
that you like best in the story of his or her life. 

2. Name (a) the man, (b) the woman whose character as 
a whole you like best in the entire series of studies, and give 
the reason for your choice in each case. 

3. What qualities or traits of character go to make up your 
ideal of a Christian hero or heroine ? 

4. Tell of any incidents or deeds in everyday life, of which 
you have heard, that seem to you heroic. 

5. Name any men or women, not included in this series of 
studies, whom you consider heroes or heroines of the Faith. 



NOV 19 1910 




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